Traveler vows to ‘never fly’ with airline again over surprise $25 fee to board plane – he was caught out by 60-min rule

A FURIOUS traveler has vowed to never fly with a budget airline again after he was slapped with a surprise $25 fee at the airport.

His declaration comes after he got into a heated spat with gate agents over the $25 charge to board his flight.

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The incident unfolded at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina last Friday.

The passenger, a 45-year-old dad-of-three, was flying home to Boston after a week-long business trip at the time.

He arrived at the terminal about 50 minutes before takeoff but was blocked from checking in at the self-serve kiosk, he told The New York Post.

Confused, he went to speak with an airline employee – and was told he had to pay a $25 fee to check in with the agent.

Unbeknownst to him, Frontier requires passengers to check in for their flight at least 60 minutes before departure.

“They all kind of started chiming in, ‘Well, you should have checked the website,’” he said.

“Like not in a professional or polite way. They were like, ‘It was your fault for not checking the website. Sorry, it’s on you.’”

After going back and forth for 20 minutes, the man said he reluctantly agreed to pay the fee.

STAFF FIRES BACK

But when he muttered, “I’m never flying this sh—y airline again,” things took a turn.

“The lady who I was talking to took a step back and gasped, and was like, ‘How dare you curse at me? I’m not checking you in,’” he said.

“She shut off completely and absolutely refused to check me in.”

A now-viral video shows two gate agents in black long-sleeve uniforms filming him while laughing.

“You thought you were gonna get on your flight?” one said.

The passenger said the behavior stunned him.

“What was remarkable to me also is that not one person on their side took the professional route or the high road,” he said.

“Listen, it’s my money at the end of the day, and when somebody is caught off guard with a charge that they feel is in some ways unfair or unreasonable, of course, they have a right to express themselves,” he said.

“It’s not OK to be disrespectful of somebody for no reason, but I was not being disrespectful to them personally, in my opinion.”

The man said he eventually threatened to get police involved — and that’s when staff brought over two officers.

He said the cops were “completely empathetic” and told him they’d seen similar situations with Frontier before.

“I asked them, off the record, essentially, am I being ridiculous here?” he said.

“And they both with serious expressions, sympathetic expressions, shook their heads, ‘No, we see these sorts of disagreements with this airline frequently.’”

Stranded and frustrated, the man ended up paying $500 for a same-day JetBlue flight home to his family.

The Frontier website states, “For most flights, you can check in on the Frontier app starting 24 hours before your flight’s scheduled departure time. 

“You must have your boarding pass and have any bags checked in by the below cutoff times before departure: 60 minutes (domestic flights) and 60 minutes (international flights).

“If you fail to check-in or to board your flight within the required time (check-in: 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure time; boarding: 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure time), your ticket will be deemed a No-Show Cancellation and canceled.”

The website also notes traditional counter check-in is available at all airports for an additional fee.

The traveler said after he complained, Frontier reimbursed him for the last-minute fare.

“We are aware of what occurred and have been directly in touch with the customer,” a spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.

“The individuals in question, who work for a third-party contractor, are no longer associated with the Frontier account.”

Frontier didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.