
Airline passenger shocked when agent rejects checked bag for 'bizarre' reason
A flight passenger shared frustrations about a surprising issue involving a checked bag — garnering plenty of comments from other users.
Posting in the "r/delta" Reddit forum with the title, "My checked bag was rejected for being underweight," the user wrote that large souvenirs from a trip would not fit in any of the person's existing bags.
So "I stuffed them into the secret duffel bag that I always bring for such contingencies and tried to check it," the post said.
"Imagine my surprise when the agent said I couldn't check my fluffy bag because it didn't weigh enough," read the post.
"Is this the bizarro luggage counter?" the user asked.
"The agent said I should go ahead and take it as a third carry-on, but I didn't want to get hassled by the gate agent,'" continued the post.
The person did not want to be forced to check a backpack at the gate and ended up finding a few "heavy things" from the carry-on to add more weight.
"Has this happened to anyone else?" asked the Reddit user. "What do you think is the reasoning behind this?"
Users took to the comments section to discuss whether they'd ever heard of a checked bag rejected for being "underweight" and speculated about possible reasons for the rejection.
"Might have been too lightweight and flexible to make it through the sorting machines and various belts to get from the bag check conveyor to the plane," suggested one user.
Another Redditor wrote, "Could easily be blown from the belt or from the cart."
Said another person, "I would've just checked my carry-on and taken souvenirs with me."
Another user said, "Gate agents lately are super strict … Trying to get three obvious bags past them would most likely not work."
"You checking helium balloons?" joked one user.
Another Redditor said, "Gate checking usually results in the bag getting damaged less. It's the unknown airport bag mazes that cause trouble."
Most airlines list the maximum weight of a checked bag on their website, but they do not state whether there is a minimum weight limit.
Delta's website lists its price for the first and second "standard checked bag under 50 lbs."
Bags on Frontier "must weigh 40 lbs or less," according to that company's website.

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