Southwest tells man photo in his hand is 'third carry-on' and not allowed, asks him to check-in a bag

A gate agent of Southwest Airlines told a passenger holding a picture while boarding that it counts as a third carry-on, leaving him flabbergasted. When the man informed the airline via X, the airline confirmed that the picture would definitely be counted as a carry-on and told the man that it should be put inside a bag if he didn't want it to be a third item. It isn't known at which airport the incident happened. The man shared his experience on social media, tagging Southwest. He said that he had a "crazy experience", when a gate attendant didn't allow him on the plane because he had a picture in his hand. She told him that it was "considered a third item". To his shock, the airline's reply supported the gate agent's stance. The man named Keith wrote, "I just had a crazy experience on your flight! Your gate attendant did not allow me on the plane, because I had a picture in my hand that was an 8x10 piece of paper basically." Also Read: Plane vanishes in Australia: No distress signal detected, no traces even after 20 days

Southwest Airlines doubled down on its carry-onpolicy

Southwest wrote, "We're sorry about any confusion with our carry-on policy. You may carry on one bag and one personal item. If the photo were an additional item to the two mentioned, it would be considered a third carry-on. Please know you can always put it in one of your carry-on items if you wish." The incident shared by Keith has left everyone shocked, with questions being raised on what exactly a carry-on is, and whether reading material and food also count as that. A user commented, "This is just stupid AND this is exactly how your airline will go from being the best to the worst." Also Read: Woman alleges Air France asked her to change seat because white passenger didn't want to sit next to someone Black

Another said, "It's so disappointing that an airline once so customer-oriented, whose ticker symbol is LUV, has fallen into the pit of greed and corporate anonymity." A person asked whether a magazine or a coffee also counts as carry-on. Meanwhile, a user joked that now airlines will also start counting boarding passes as carry-ons since it is also made of paper. Southwest is facing flak for this, as other passengers said that it seems to have forgotten about common sense. Others could not believe that the airline doubled down on the policy, admitting that a piece of paper is a carry-on.