David Podger angry after being denied his place on Eastern Airways plane - because it was overweight

David Podger was left at Southampton Airport and could not be at his son’s graduation in Leeds after he was told the plane was overweight.

The part-time actor was meant to take the Eastern Airways flight from Southampton airport to Leeds and watch his son Tom graduate that morning.

Due to his role in a performance of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It the night before, the morning flight was the only one Mr Podger could get.

But when he arrived to the gate at Southampton Airport he was told he could not board as the pilot had to increase the fuel due to forecasted thunderstorm en route and this resulted in the need to offload two passengers to allow the flight to depart safely.

After having unsuccessfully asked other passengers to offer him their seat and not having enough time to take the next flight available, he was left at the airport with another passenger and missed what he described as a “once-in-a-lifetime unrepeatable experience”.

He said: “ I was left angry and upset, demanding that I was given an explanation. My first thought was I am going to disappoint my son. He’ll be upset that his father cannot be at his graduation day. “

Mr Podger said that although the airport staff were supportive there was not any airline representative to talk to.

He added: “ We weren’t allowed on the flight because the pilot has decided that he cannot take off the passengers due to weight restrictions.”

Now he is asking the airline to re-look at its policy, apologise and give him a compensation, although he said there won’t be anything that will compensate him.

He said: “ This is unfair because the airline should not be allowed to sell more tickets than the capacity. They know that there are certain circumstances when they cannot take all passengers on but they overbook the flight.”

A spokesperson for Eastern Airways said: “The decision to reduce the number of passengers was based on the safety of our passengers and crew, which is our priority.

"We sincerely regret this resulted in Mr Podger missing a special occasion. Our customer support team has not been contacted by Mr Podger, however he is entitled to a full refund.”