This brought new meaning to arriving with only the clothes on his back.
An enterprising UK traveler has devised an ingenious — albeit unconventional way — to circumvent baggage fees at the airport — by stuffing everything under his clothes. This human suitcase detailed the unorthodox money-saving hack in a video blowing up on social media.
“I thought I could try and get away with bringing extra but then I saw staff putting bags into the boxes and knew I needed to make some amendments,” Dylan Springer, 23, told Kennedy News Agency.
The Yorkshire-based professional dancer says he was boarding a flight home from Kos, Greece, on April 12 when he noticed that his fellow flyers were being charged £48 fines (around $60) for bringing an extra carry-on.
Per the budget carrier’s site, this is the standard penalty for any “non-purchased bag (per item) brought to the departure gate that is over a customer’s small cabin bag allowance which is a maximum size of 45 x 36 x 20 cm or any bags outside of standard entitlements.”
As Springer had an extra bag, he was understandably apprehensive.
“I thought I could try and get away with bringing extra but then I saw staff putting bags into the boxes and knew I needed to make some amendments,” said Springer, who subsequently decided to smuggle the luggage instead.
“I put my Birkenstock sandals in my socks and my jeans over the top,” recalled the Brit. “I put two books in each of the little side pockets I had on my legs which somehow perfectly fit in there.”
The clothing mule added, “Then I had some snacks which I just put inside one of my pockets and I had a portable charger inside my hood. I tied a shirt around my waist too.
Springer said he was lucky he wore the trousers he did, as they held all the items like a clown car and pass through security undetected.
“I was nervous and as soon as I walked up to them I thought ‘I hope they’re not staring at my legs and can see everything puffing out,” he said. “They didn’t even check the bag I was holding, I just walked straight through.”
In doing so, he brought new meaning to arriving somewhere with only the clothes on his back.
Accompanying footage taken upon arrival shows the baggage trafficker taking all the items out from under his clothes and repacking his suitcase with them.
Needless to say, his ingenious travel hack earned him praise from fellow travelers. “Lots of people stared at me but I could tell some were thinking ‘that’s clever’ and ‘fair enough, I would’ve done the same.’”
Springer also received props on social media with one commenter writing: “Stuffing things into socks is actually genius.”
“The shoes up the trousers are so good,” said another.
