The severe consequences of ‘skiplagging’ as flight attendant warns passengers against travel trend

When it comes to travelling, people are willing to do just about anything to make it that little bit easier - or cheaper.

From the pillow case hack to packing one common household item in your suitcase, clever trends to make going abroad a breeze regularly go viral on social media.

But, a flight attendant has warned travellers of the severe consequences of the latest viral trend known as 'skiplagging'.

What is skiplagging?

Skiplagging is where you buy a ticket for a journey that has a connecting flight with no intention of getting the connection.

Say you want to fly from London to New York but the ticket's more expensive than you're looking to pay, a skiplagger would purchase a cheaper ticket from London to Miami with a stop in New York but not get on the second flight, ending up at the same destination for a lower price.

The practice has gained a lot of traction on social media recently and there's even a whole website dedicated to finding people in the US the best skiplagging deals.

However, while the trend isn't illegal in itself, one flight attendant warns that doing it could land you in hot water.

What are the consequences of skiplagging?

In a TikTok video, a flight attendant who goes by @traveling.mermaidd shared the story of how one of her friends ended up being banned from American Airlines because of it.

"There are some sites that let you buy flights, let's say to New York, and there is a connection in Washington, D.C. And it's cheaper to do the connection to Washington, D.C., and then to go to New York, right?" she said.

"But let's say your actual destination is Washington, D.C. If they catch you not going on that flight to New York, you're going to get banned from the airline. This is like a serious thing, 'cause they flag you."

And this isn't a one-off situation. Speaking to Business Insider, content creator Cassie Aran shared that skiplagging almost ended up in her being banned from an airline too.

"The first time I tried skiplagging, everything went great. It was a success, but during my [second] trip, it all went terribly wrong," she told the outlet.

Cassie bought her ticket through skiplagged - the aforementioned website offering skiplagging deals. But, while at the airport before her flight, she was called over to the check-in desk and told that if she didn't fly to the final destination, she'd face a lifetime ban.

"I didn't know the consequences would be that serious," she said.