The man who went viral for getting arrested trying to wear 10 jackets and eight pairs of pants on a British Airways flight from Iceland has come forward to clear the air.
The story of fashion designer Ryan Hawaii getting busted in Iceland for attempting to board a plane wearing his entire wardrobe, presumed at the time to be trying to avoid the baggage fee, has been widely shared across social media. It gained so much attention, in fact, that he decided to tell his side of the matter, to LADbible no less.
Ryan was not trying to save money, he contends. Rather, he says that nine days in Iceland had left him broke, but his sister-in-law had bought him an airline ticket without baggage. Having no money to cover the approximately £90 fee to check his baggage, he took matters into his own hands, and simply dressed himself in every stitch of clothing he owned.
This was not taken well by ground staff, and security was called. Ryan told LADbible that he was treated roughly by security, saying they “twisted his wrists and dug their knee into his back and head”, and that they had later peppersprayed him as he deliberately attempted to throw himself to the ground while being led out of the building.
After selling some of his clothes, he returned to the airport the next day and tried to get an EasyJet ticket, but staff were unmoved. They told him he had been “disruptive” and was “a threat to the passengers and staff”.
Ultimately, his mom wired him the remainder of his savings, £250, and he spent another night in Iceland before taking a Norwegian flight back to London. He says BritishAirways is investigating the matter, and that EasyJet refunded him, but he is not going to let matters rest there.
“I’ve had a lot of anxiety since, kind of like PTSD.” Ryan told LADbible. “I’ve been having nightmares and sleep paralysis – I’ve never had this type of stuff before. It was horrible. It’s been horrible. I just want to sue them to be honest.”
Ryan was kind enough to upload two videos to his Twitter of the ordeal, embedded below (direct links if your browser blocks embeds: 1st, 2nd).
@British_Airways hi being held at Iceland Keflavik airport because I had no baggage put all the clothes on and they still won't let me on. Racial profiling? Or….. pic.twitter.com/NKgpe1cPFP
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 10, 2018
Disappointing. pic.twitter.com/7f8UFi9jb4
— Ryan Hawaii (@RYAN_HAWAII) January 10, 2018
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