The story of a 55-year old woman who was said to weigh 15.5 stone, was told to purchase two tickets because of her size was a hoax, the airline said.

Prior to boarding a flight from Bari to Rome, the woman was asked to step onto scales in view of other passengers, which she refused, Italian newspaper, La Republica reported.

“I’m sorry, but you’re too fat, and if you want to fly with us, you have to buy two tickets,” the check-in staffer told the surprised passenger.

The woman was not allowed to board the plane and was claimed to be suing EasyJet for putting her through the humiliation.

However, EasyJet said earlier this week that the story was in fact a hoax.

“Following an investigation regarding a reported incident involving a large passenger being refused travel in Italy and subsequently threatening to sue the airline, EasyJet has discovered the incident did not in fact occur and this was a hoax story reported to the media by a member of the public,” a spokesman said.

“EasyJet’s policy regarding larger passengers, is to recommend that if they feel they will need more than one seat, to purchase one.

“However we do not require them to do so this is a recommendation for their own comfort.”

The hoax comes following United Airlines announced that overweight passengers would have to pay for two seats if they could not fit in a standard airline seat, in a move that campaigners said was “blatant discrimination”.

Thanks to the Telegraph for the above quotes.  For more information on this article visit their website.