- Joined
- Aug 9, 2010
- Location
- Coral Springs, Florida
A unit of United States soldiers returning from Afghanistan was welcomed home Tuesday by Delta Air Lines -- and $2,800 in extra bag fees.
The soldiers' military orders authorize them to travel with up to four bags. But at the check-in counter at the Baltimore airport, they discovered that while Delta allows active duty military personnel traveling on orders to check up to four bags for free if they are traveling in first/business class, the limit is only three bags for soliders traveling in coach.
Several of the 34 soldiers who had an extra bag were forced to pay $200 of their own money in fees in order to make their connecting flight to Atlanta. They then posted a video of their experience on YouTube, which has now been viewed more than 200,000 times. One solider said his fourth bag was a weapons case containing "the tools that I used to protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed."
Former Congressman and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., called Delta's fee "outrageous." "Here you have these heroes who have fought for our country overseas ... to come home to the $200 charge per soldier? It’s outrageous.”
It's not unusual for returning soldiers to check weapons on a commercial flight if the weapons have been certified as unloaded, Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Washington office, told the Associated Press.
"A $200 bill for extra baggage by a government-contracted airline is the worst welcome home any soldier could receive," Davis said. "We know this is a business issue and that the troops will be reimbursed if they are authorized additional baggage in their orders, but the shock of even being charged is enough to make most servicemen and women simply shake their heads and wonder who or what it is they are protecting."
In response, Delta Air Lines announced Wednesday that it has changed its policy and will now allow active duty soldiers traveling under orders to check four bags for free when flying coach. Delta Air Lines also apologized to the soldiers.
The soldiers' military orders authorize them to travel with up to four bags. But at the check-in counter at the Baltimore airport, they discovered that while Delta allows active duty military personnel traveling on orders to check up to four bags for free if they are traveling in first/business class, the limit is only three bags for soliders traveling in coach.
Several of the 34 soldiers who had an extra bag were forced to pay $200 of their own money in fees in order to make their connecting flight to Atlanta. They then posted a video of their experience on YouTube, which has now been viewed more than 200,000 times. One solider said his fourth bag was a weapons case containing "the tools that I used to protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed."
Former Congressman and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., called Delta's fee "outrageous." "Here you have these heroes who have fought for our country overseas ... to come home to the $200 charge per soldier? It’s outrageous.”
It's not unusual for returning soldiers to check weapons on a commercial flight if the weapons have been certified as unloaded, Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Washington office, told the Associated Press.
"A $200 bill for extra baggage by a government-contracted airline is the worst welcome home any soldier could receive," Davis said. "We know this is a business issue and that the troops will be reimbursed if they are authorized additional baggage in their orders, but the shock of even being charged is enough to make most servicemen and women simply shake their heads and wonder who or what it is they are protecting."
In response, Delta Air Lines announced Wednesday that it has changed its policy and will now allow active duty soldiers traveling under orders to check four bags for free when flying coach. Delta Air Lines also apologized to the soldiers.