Woman hits out at Ryanair seatbelt after not being able to fit despite being 'average' dress size
Katie Higgins has slammed the budget airline for not providing longer seatbelts for plus-sized passengers
A woman has hit out at budget airline Ryanair after she claims she was 'lassoed' into her chair by a short seatbelt, making her journey incredibly uncomfortable.
Beautician Katie Higgins was travelling to visit family in Cork, Ireland from Glasgow in Scotland and, like many, opted to travel a direct flight with budget airline, Ryanair.
But when the 33-year-old boarded the flight, she soon realised she was in for an incredibly uncomfortable journey due to the seatbelt being way too short to comfortably strap her into her seat.
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"I flew on Friday, and I was lassoed by the seatbelt," Katie explained. "It just fitted, but if it had been digging into me anymore, I would have been very uncomfortable.
"But if someone else was a different shape or a different size, they might not be able to tie it."
The beautician went on to explain how the seatbelt had 'no give' and that there was barely an inch of room left when she pulled on the uncomfortably tight fabric that was cutting into her stomach.
She claimed that she would have had to ask for an extender belt if the material was any tighter - despite the fact that she matches the profile of the average UK woman at a dress size 16.
Adding that she isn't 'delusional', Katie acknowledged that she knows she is a 'bigger woman' but was left baffled when the belt didn't fit as she had lost two stone in weight.
"I'm not delusional, I know I'm a bigger woman," she said. "But there has to be some bit of give, especially since I lost two stone in weight.
"Because it just fit, I didn't say anything. I didn't want to take one of the extender belts from someone who might need it. It's very frustrating."
Katie went on: "There must have been other people on the flight in a worse position than me. If it just fits, even if it's a bit tight, I'll let someone else use the belt.
"I think anyone who has experienced fatphobia could see it that way - I have unfortunately experienced a lot of this kind of thing."
But she went on to add that she doesn't think that the seatbelt situation is fatphobic, saying: "I don't think it's fatphobic, but I think a lot of people could see it that way.
"I think it's them cutting corners more than being fatphobic. A size 16 is the size of the average UK woman.
"By this logic, the average person needs an extender. I know that we can bring our own [extender belt], but why should we?
"Do they expect us to just hang on to something and hope for the best?"
The beautician claimed that she hasn't yet contacted Ryanair about the issue as she believes that her complaint would fall on deaf ears.
TYLA has contacted Ryanair for a comment on the matter.
Topics: Travel, Plane Etiquette, TikTok
Emily Puckering