According to the Mirror newspaper, Pieters claimed they wanted to save £59.99 ($127) on luggage fees, and a surcharge of £120 ($254) for exceeding the standard baggage weight limit on both their outbound and return flights, a combined total of £300 ($634).
To pull the scheme off, Pieters had a coat specially tailored with a series of in-built durable pockets – big enough to stash every holiday essential, including shorts, underwear, shampoo and conditioner.
In what can only be described as a brazen act of deception, the coat was also made big enough to conceal a beach ball, a portable kettle, an inflatable sofa and a couple of stools.
Lest we forget the teabags. This was two British lads flying to Portugal after all.
Not wanting to pay for their tent to sit in cargo either, Manners somehow managed to clear security and swerve ground staff while wearing a large grey tent.
A video detailing both men and their great feat was later shared on X and has accumulated more than 22,000 views.
Pieters is well-known across social media for being a serial prankster but even he wasn’t sure if the daring duo would get away with it.
The Mirror reports Pieters saying “We got loads of funny looks at the airport. We were a little bit nervous. When we were going through security, we thought ‘This might not work’.
But work it did, with the friends later arriving in Portugal ready for their holiday.
In what might come as the biggest insult to Ryanair - having failed to thwart the covert operation - is that the airline has previously highlighted such an audacious act on their own social media channels.
In July 2022, the budget airline shared an image of an oversized green coat featuring multiple pockets, with the caption: “Don’t even think about it”.
Well, it seems Joshua Pieters and Archie Manners did think about it, and not only that, they got away with it.
