Three Russian tourists lost nearly 300,000 rubles after Corendon Airlines cabin crew had them removed from a direct flight from Antalya to Saint Petersburg over a hand luggage dispute.
According to the Russian travel news outlet TourDom, a married couple and their daughter boarded the aircraft in the Turkish resort city on 27 October for their journey home. Before departure, flight attendants demanded that the family place their small backpacks into the overhead lockers rather than under their seats.
Because the compartments above their own rows were already full, the only remaining overhead space was in the tail section of the airliner. The mother told TourDom that storing the bags at the back of the plane meant the family could not keep an eye on their travel documents and money, which would have been completely out of their line of sight.
Cabin bag dispute and police intervention
The passenger explained that the family had flown with Corendon Airlines on 17 October carrying the exact same backpacks without any issues. On that earlier flight, cabin crew had raised no objections when the travellers placed the bags under the seats in front of them.
She added that an announcement made over the aircraft public address system during boarding had also instructed passengers to stow small items of hand luggage beneath the seats ahead of them.
To resolve the disagreement, the passengers took their wallets out of the backpacks and placed the bags into the overhead lockers at the rear of the cabin as instructed. Despite their compliance, the senior flight attendant called the police to the aircraft.
The Russian woman was removed from the flight, and her husband and daughter followed her off the plane. Under standard commercial aviation rules, senior cabin crew and the aircraft commander hold the authority to offload passengers following an onboard dispute with crew members.
Replacement tickets via Istanbul and payment hurdles
Following proceedings at the airport, the three travellers had to buy new tickets to return home via a connecting route through Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and primary aviation hub. The replacement fares for the family of three cost nearly 300,000 rubles.
Paying for the new tickets in Turkey created a further complication because local banking terminals do not accept Russian bank cards. Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia in 2022, rendering cards issued by Russian banks unusable abroad, while Turkish banks also stopped processing Russia's domestic Mir payment system.
According to TourDom, an unidentified man stepped in to help the stranded travellers purchase the replacement flights. The female passenger noted that her husband had to transfer the money directly to the stranger so the booking could go through.
After the tickets were issued, the stranger photographed them. The family stated that they still do not know who the man was or what role he played in arranging their transport.
Corendon Airlines routes and baggage rules
Corendon Airlines is a Turkish leisure carrier headquartered in Antalya that operates scheduled and charter flights linking Mediterranean resort cities with destinations across Europe and Russia. Antalya sits on Turkey's southern coast and serves as one of the main foreign holiday destinations for Russian tourists travelling to and from Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.
Most commercial airlines distinguish between larger cabin bags, which must be stowed in overhead bins, and smaller personal items such as compact backpacks designed to fit beneath the seat in front of a passenger.
