tl;dr – If there’s a world record for the most checked baggage for one passenger on one flight, this might be it.
While perusing the internet’s most notorious time-suck – Reddit – I stumbled across a ‘mildly interesting’ post depicting a passenger’s rather large checked baggage allotment. A traveler destined for Poland revealed that they checked in 75 bags full of medical supplies that will ultimately go to the Ukrainian armed forces in their ongoing war with Russia.
According to the OP (original poster), the cargo contains items such as medical kits and combat application tourniquets, purchased in the US.
The passenger (who remains anonymous) revealed as much on Reddit, posting an image of the goods as well as a snapshot of a part of their boarding pass.
In a reply to a comment on the thread, the OP revealed that they “have been fundraising money for the benefit of the armed forces of Ukraine, buying stuff in the US — mostly medical kits and combat application tourniquets — and then delivering them to Poland by hand.”
As this is the internet, I was initially skeptical as to whether this was legit, but a few things hint at it being so. First, from the image of the boarding pass, you can tell the passenger flew on LOT Airlines (a Polish Star Alliance Member). Secondly, the boarding pass reflects a date of November 30th, which would mean that this trip likely occurred sometime in the past three years. I’m saying three years, I’m guessing the need for war supplies coincides with the recent escalation of the conflict, dating back to February 2022. Next, the flight number – LO27 – also viewable on the boarding pass, seems legit. Flightware confirms that’s one of the ongoing flight numbers for LOT Airlines’ direct service from New York’s JFK and Warsaw, Poland.
In case you’re wondering about the cost of checking all this baggage and the practical steps to getting it cleared, the OP shed some light on each of these in the comments:
“I would routinely call the airline’s hotline, inform them about the quantity, and pay in advance $108 each.” The cost? “$108 x (75 minus 2 included in ticket fare) = $7884.”
My biggest question? How did they get it all to the airport.
Also shout out to the luggage carts that to the left of the baggage photo. They must have been fighting for their lives.
