Thai Airways apologises to long-name passenger after charging extra

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Thai Airways apologises to long-name passenger after charging extra

Updated
Bangkokg's Suvarnabhumi Airport. A passenger was charged extra after their name did not fit on to Thai Airways' online booking system.

Bangkokg's Suvarnabhumi Airport. A passenger was charged extra after their name did not fit on to Thai Airways' online booking system.Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK

Thai Airways says it has reimbursed a passenger charged extra for having a long surname, a media report says.

The unnamed passenger was charged at the check-in counter after airlines staff said that the name on his ticket did not match the name on the passport, the Bangkok Post reported on Saturday.

According to the passenger, he was unable to fully input his last name because of a character limit on the Thai Airways website.

Thai Airways reimbursed the man for the extra charges and said that it was implementing steps to ensure the problem does not occur again.

"We apologise for the inconvenience since the internet booking system allows up to 25 characters each for the first name and family name when booking a ticket," Wiwat Piyawiroj, Thai Airways acting executive vice-president, said on the company's Facebook page.

This is not the first time a passenger has been refused carriage for an unusual reason. Here are some more weird reasons passengers have been rejected by airlines.

You can be booted off a flight for your stench

Several airlines, including three of America's biggest - United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines - can remove any passengers with a "malodorous condition" or an "offensive odour" from the flight. Back in 2010, a male passenger on an Air Canada Jazz flight was asked to disembark the flight after fellow fliers reportedly complained of a "brutal" body odour.

...or going barefoot

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Tied to the bad body odour rule but also for safety reasons during emergency evacuations, passengers who aren't wearing shoes can be refused boarding. Passengers can also be refused boarding if they are deemed to not be "properly clothed" or wearing clothes thought to be offensive to fellow passengers. Last year, a group of women travelling to Magaluf, Spain, on a hen do was removed from a Jet2 flight for reportedly wearing t-shirts that read "Bitches on tour".

Obese fliers can be kicked off a flight

United reserves the right to remove any fliers who are deemed to "significantly encroach upon the adjoining passenger's seat" or "unable to sit in a single seat with the seat belt properly secured, and/or are unable to put the seat's armrests down when seated and remain seated with the armrest down for the entirety of the flight". In 2013 Samoa Air famously courted controversy by beginning to charge passengers according to their size.

Cabin crew can also face the same threat for their physical characteristics. Back in 2015, Air India warned 600 of its 3500 crew to lose weight within six months or risk being taken off flights, while Air France announced back in 2010 that overweight passengers would be asked to pay for two seats or be refused boarding for "safety reasons".

Nut allergies can lose you your seat

Nuts on planes have been a touchy subject since the "nut rage" incident on a Korean Air flight back in 2014. But in 2016, one family was removed from a flight after it emerged that their two-year-old son had a peanut allergy. The family travelling on the Allegiant Air flight was asked by the pilot to get off of the plane for potential safety reasons, a decision which was reportedly made after the crew consulted with a medical profession.

DPA with the Telegraph, London

See also: Why you should never post a photo of your boarding pass online

See also: Emirates will now check you in and collect your bags from your hotel room

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