Sunday, 08 Jun 2025

Airline passenger shocked when agent rejects checked bag for 'bizarre' reason

A traveler's "secret duffel bag" packed with souvenirs was deemed too light to check in by an airline agent, highlighting an unusual baggage policy that most carriers don't explicitly clarify.


Airline passenger shocked when agent rejects checked bag for 'bizarre' reason

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 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.

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."

"You checking helium balloons?" joked one user. 

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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