Scottish singer James McElvar was recently in the news not for his vocal prowess, but for fainting on a flight! The teenager was so desperate to avoid paying excess baggage fee that he put on 12 layers of clothing. his overheated body didn’t really like the idea and he ended up passing out at 37,000 ft, on the way from London to Glasgow.

James, 19, is a member of a Scottish boyband called Rewind. When the band arrived at Stansted Airport last Wednesday, James was told by EasyJet staff that he would have to pay £45 for the excess weight he had packed into his suitcase and rucksack. “The woman told me either one of my bags went in the hold or we weren’t getting on,” he later told the media. “The rest of the band had gone through so I couldn’t give them any of my clothes.”

Unwilling to cough up the cash, James did the first thing that occurred to him – he unpacked his bag and started to put on all his clothes. He didn’t stop until he had about 12 layers of clothing on! “I felt it was the only option, to put everything on,” the singer explained. He ended up dressing himself in six t-shirts, four jumpers, three pairs of jeans, two pairs of jogging bottoms, a pair of jackets, and two hats.

Photo: James McElvar

James later admitted that it wasn’t the smartest idea. “It was impossible to walk, I could barely get on the plane,” he said. “I wanted to take them all off as soon as I got to my seat – beside which was a spare seat that I could have sat one of my bags on – but was told I had to wait until we were up in the air.”

Unable to bear the heat any longer, James began undressing even as the plane was taking off. But it was too late by then, his body temperature was already too high. He was incredibly warm, sweating profusely, and felt light headed and sick. Once he got all the clothes off, he informed the band’s manager and the crew of his condition. They offered him an empty row of seats at the back and handed him a transparent bin bag in case he felt like vomiting.

James did barf, but sadly, he missed the bag and instead covered the cabin crew in vomit. So he had to be seated in the middle of the plane again, and once he got there, he passed out. He landed face down in the aisle, where he was placed in the recovery position. An off-duty paramedic who happened to be on the same flight treated James.

Photo: Friends video caption

“I knew something was wrong early on as I just couldn’t breathe properly I thought I was having a heart attack,” James said. “It was a nightmare. I passed out twice and was taken off the plane at Glasgow Airport to a waiting ambulance.”

According to Daily Mail, EasyJet has a strict policy about the weight and size of hold luggage. A spokesperson later commented: “In this instance the passenger had two items of cabin baggage which he could not combine into the allocated bag allowance and as such he was asked to either combine his baggage into one bag or pay £45 to check the bag into the hold.”

“During the flight, Mr. McElvar became unwell and our crew on board assisted him,” the spokesperson added. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

Photo: Wikipedia

James, however, had a different take on things: “Make sure you stay safe while flying as it would appear cabin crew do not have the basic first aid training. Or have £50 on hand…”

“James is much better now!” the band’s official Twitter page reported the next day. “Still in a bit of a shock but he’s recovered from last night! And the other boys are fine and home safe!”

Sources: Metro.co.uk, Daily Mail