Southwest Airlines’ new policy requires oversized passengers to purchase an extra ticket or be denied boarding. The photo shows economy class seats on a Southwest Airlines flight. (Associated Press) Southwest Airlines’ new policy sparks outrage! It forces plus-size passengers to buy an extra ticket. You must present your plane ticket; otherwise, you will not be allowed to board.
The Daily Mail reported that Southwest Airlines had said overweight passengers could buy extra tickets in advance and get a refund later or get an extra seat at the gate for free. The regulations have now been changed so that if ground staff believe a passenger is too large to fit in one seat, the passenger must purchase an additional seat at the boarding gate.
“Passengers occupying adjacent seats must also purchase the required number of seats. Armrests are considered clear boundaries between seats.” Passengers criticized Southwest Airlines for its vague wording and problematic execution, arguing that it judged passengers by their appearance.
TikTok influencer Samrya dubbed the policy a “fat tax” and expressed her dissatisfaction in a post, saying, “The official website says that if you take up the seat of the passenger next to you, you have to buy an extra seat. But when you get to the airport, they just stare at you,” Samrya said.
“They have no criteria for deciding who needs to pay for an extra seat. It’s blatant discrimination. It’s entirely up to the discretion of the ground staff that day and discrimination against obese people.”
Passenger Kari McCaw recounted his experience of being stopped by airport staff while en route to Las Vegas. The ground staff told McCaw that she needed to buy a second seat, or she wouldn’t be allowed to board. McCaw said that although she had never been asked to buy two seats before, she felt she was being treated differently because of her size.
“They just casually looked me up and down,” McCaw said.
Jessica Skinner was rushing from Tampa International Airport (TPA) to Austin when she was stopped at the ticket counter, where ground staff insisted she was too big to fit. As a result, she missed the baggage check-in deadline and had to rebook her flight.
Skinner had already lost 200 pounds and didn’t need an extra seat, but she still borrowed money from her family to buy a plane ticket for that day. Kenny Slack was flying from Houston to Kansas and was treated differently by ground staff because he was 100 pounds heavier than he was before and had previously been subject to the larger passenger policy. Some passengers also said that even if there were no special markings on the inaugural flight, they were asked to buy an extra seat on connecting or return flights.
Fitness blogger Stella Kittrell filmed a video experiment in which she deliberately changed into the clothes that made her look the slimmest, went to the airport, was not stopped by Southwest Airlines, boarded the plane smoothly, and sat comfortably in her seat.