Obese Man Says Airline Made Him Book 2 Tickets, Then Gave Him Seats 2 Rows Apart

A 43-year-old man from Wales had to book two seats on a recent flight to Ireland because airline policy requires anyone over 20 stone (280 pounds) to purchase the extra space. Price weighs 518 pounds.

Airline staff seemed clueless of this policy, however, when they assigned him one aisle seat and one window seat in a three-seat row on the first leg of his journey and two seats that were two rows apart on the return flight.

"When I got to the airport, I had to explain to all the staff why I had two tickets. They didn't have a clue," the man, Les Price, who is participating in the BBC's upcoming "Wales' Weight Clinic," told The Telegraph.

Price said he's never been a "layabout" -he used to work 70 or 80 hours a week and play rugby on Saturdays - but he hurt his back while working.

"I lost my mobility, developed sciatica and I didn't get out of the house for three months," Price told The Telegraph.

Many airlines, including Southwest, American, and United, require overweight passengers to buy an additional seat if they cannot buckle their seatbelt. Samoa Air caused a stir earlier this year when it implemented a new policy that determines ticket price by passenger weight.