A woman asks if she has to pay her friend back after she missed her vacation

A group of friends were excited to go to Hawaii. They planned, packed and went to the airport, but once there TSA detained one of them and did not let her through security. The remaining friends went on, boarded the plane and reached their destination.

Of course, the friend left behind was upset and after returning from the trip, she turned to her group of friends with a bold request.

The friend demanded that her other friends return the part of the holiday she had missed.

Your friend’s frustration is certainly justified. I know I’d be furious if I spent almost a grand on a vacation I wouldn’t even be on. But is forcing other friends to pay her back really the solution? They’re not guilty, so why should they foot the bill?

One of the friends from the group he went to Reddit to ask for advice on this matter.

The woman explained it she and three friends were planning a trip to Hawaiidividing the costs of flight, hotel and car into four parts. They each paid about $800, not including the classes they booked, which totaled about $250 each.

Security did not allow my friend to board the plane because of a suspicious item in her luggage.

As a group of friends were passing through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the day of their departure, one of the friends, called Sarah by the woman, was detained because of what security found in her bag: a recreational e-cigarette.

“She says she just forgot it was there and didn’t bring it on purpose, but it doesn’t matter anyway,” the woman wrote. “TSA ultimately called the airport (police) and Sarah was not allowed to board the plane.”

Since marijuana is illegal at the federal level, TSA’s response to the discovery of any marijuana products is the same in every state and at every airport – confiscate and report.

While the TSA does not actively look for these products in individuals’ luggage, it is required by law to report any illegal items found during security screening, including marijuana, medicinal or otherwise.

Airport TSA Jim Lambert | Shutterstock

It is law enforcement who decides whether a person can continue to travel. In this situation, the police issued Sarah a ticket and a court date and prevented her from going through security, which inevitably forced her to miss her holiday.

The rest of the group went on vacation as planned, but returned home to an angry and resentful friend.

The remaining three friends They boarded their plane and I enjoyed my vacation without Sarah. They had planned and paid for a trip to Hawaii, but they didn’t want to miss it because of a thoughtless mistake from one of their friends.

Naturally, Sarah wasn’t too pleased with the situation when her friends returned from their recovery vacation, which she had partially paid for, so she demanded her share back.

“Sarah is mad at all of us for going and wants us to return some of her stuff because she couldn’t go,” the woman wrote. “But I don’t think we should do this! It’s not our fault she wasn’t allowed to fly and I didn’t budget enough to allow her to pay half,” which she detailed would be around $350 each.

While Sarah’s feelings are valid, as the woman noted in the post, he cannot blame anyone for the unfortunate events but himself.

“I don’t think she’s actually mad at us, I think she’s mad at herself and she’s taking it out on us,” the Redditor admitted. “I think this whole thing is really frustrating for her, so we’re giving her grace.”

Woman upset that her friends won't return her money Perfect wave | Shutterstock.com

While the group of friends have considered paying Sarah to “keep the peace,” they also think it’s not entirely fair for them to pay out of pocket for her mistake.

Reddit users argued that Sarah should take responsibility for her actions instead of blaming her friends.

It makes perfect sense that Sarah would be upset. No one wants to miss an island vacation OR lose thousands of dollars, let alone both, because of a small mistake. However, as a friend pointed out on Reddit, Sarah’s anger is misplaced.

She ended up leaving the vape in her bag, whether it was intentional or not. She must take responsibility for the fact that her actions – or omission – caused her to miss her flight and vacation. It’s unfair to expect her friends to pay for her share of this.

“It seems like Sarah didn’t have to deal with a lot of things responsibility for your actions in life if she honestly expects others to spend over hundreds of dollars for HER mistake,” one commenter suggested. “I hope (the original poster) stands firm and refuses to pay.”

We hope that in the end, Sarah and her friends will recover from this experience, because friendship is much more important than money. They seem to show her grace and understanding, as all good friends do. On the other hand, Sarah will probably never make that mistake before boarding a plane again.

Francesca Duarte is a staff writer on YourTango’s news and entertainment team based in Orlando, Florida. It deals with lifestyle, human interests, adventure and spirituality.