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A mother says she was left humiliated after having to put her 'dirty knickers' inside a clear plastic bag before she was allowed to board a Flybe flight.

The 25-year-old was travelling to London from Exeter Airport when she says she was refused to board her flight home.

She said she had to pay an additional £50 when she was getting her bags checked, because the case didn't fit in the luggage holder.

Devon Live reports she said: "The hand luggage I was travelling back with was the same bag I had travelled to Devon with so I didn't see why I was being made to pay to travel home.

"At the time I objected, as did many other passengers travelling to London. But other people were emptying their cases and carrying it in their arms so that they could travel, I couldn't do that because my suitcase was hard-shelled."

At this point she said her son was starting to get upset, so she asked for a bin bag that she could empty her belongings into.

She explained: "I thought if I emptied it into a bag then my aunt could take my case and send it to me, and when staff handed me a bag I muttered 'I can't believe I have to put my dirty knickers in a f***ing see through plastic bag'.

"The next thing I know I had four ground staff around me and one of them told me not to swear at my child, she then repeated what I had said under her breath.

"She then said to her colleagues 'don't board this lady' and when I asked why she told me I had to apologise and then they would let me fly."

She really needed to get home with her son, and added: "I said sorry for swearing but I was just so frustrated as I couldn't understand how I could fly to Exeter with the same bag yet they wouldn't let me fly back.

"The whole situation was appalling, at that time I had other passengers coming up to me to ask if I was ok and said they would watch over me during the flight home to ensure no other staff were rude to me.

"It was then that a member of staff from the airport told me that they were highly distressed and their decision to not let me fly was final. They did say I could fly the next day but I would have to pay for the flight, I just didn't understand.

"I was no threat, I didn't shout, I didn't throw myself around. I simply used a word to show my frustration."

After not being able to board the flight her auntie drove her to the railway station, although things didn't get any better for her and her son.

"At this point I couldn't stop crying, I was just so distraught," she said.

"Not only did I have to pay £55 for a train ticket, when I got on the train there were no seats so my son and I had to sit on the floor in the doorway.

"It was truly the worst day of my life, I could not believe how inhumane they had acted and it was if they did it to use their authority so they could all sit and laugh about it.

"It broke my heart because my son was so upset and he just wanted to get home."

What Flybe has said

A spokesperson for Flybe said: "The safety of its passengers is Flybe’s number one priority at all times.

"The airline therefore adopts a zero tolerance policy against any disruptive, threatening or anti-social behaviour that includes the repetitive use of abusive language, aimed towards any of its employees or third party agents who are lawfully carrying out their duties.

"Any customer exhibiting such aggression can be refused boarding or offloaded from a flight.

"Flybe allows passengers to take on board two pieces of cabin baggage; this includes one item that does not exceed 55x35x20 cm, and one smaller additional piece such as a handbag or laptop case. Both the hand-held board and metal sizers conform to the stated dimensions and any hand luggage which fails to fit into either sizer will be charged accordingly.

"The contents, number of items carried or packed differently into a bag can change the dimensions of a bag often quite significantly and this can affect whether or not it is able to fit into the sizer.

"The cardboard sizers do flex a little after extensive use and so are only used at airports such as London City where airlines are not permitted to use metal sizers.

"Full details relating to Flybe’s hand baggage policy is not only part of its Terms and Conditions found on the Flybe website www.flybe.com to which customers must signify agreement before a booking is confirmed, but also highlighted throughout the booking process on the front page of flybe.com and at the top of the first page of the online booking process.

"In addition, reminder alerts are placed on all pre-flight confirmation e-mails sent to customers."