An EasyJet flight requested some 20 passengers to deboard a plane, providing an incentive of up to $544 for those who chose to disembark and opt for a subsequent flight.
Passengers on Flight EZY3364 from the Canary Islands to Liverpool, England were asked to get off a plane because it was too heavy.
According to a TikTok video shared by passenger Ryan Williams, the EasyJet pilot is heard saying, “Because there’s so many of you, it’s a pretty heavy aircraft we’ve got today.”
“That heavy aircraft, combined with a fairly short runway here in Lanzarote, and some winds which aren’t completely favorable at the moment, mean that with the current environmental conditions here in Lanzarote, the aircraft is too heavy to depart,” the pilot added.
According to the pilot, the crew had prior experience dealing with similar incidents. However, strict safety measures dictated that it was “impossible” to proceed with takeoff at that moment, the video showed.
The pilot asked for up to 20 volunteers to choose to not continue their journey that night. The volunteers were incentivized with up to $544 each for disembarking.
Aircraft weight limitations for safe takeoff can be influenced by several factors, including weather conditions, elevation, runway length, and slope.
According to a spokesperson for the airline, this is a routine operational decision in these circumstances, and weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reasons.
“In the event that a flight would exceed weight limits, we ask for passengers to volunteer to transfer to a later flight free of charge which is what happened on this occasion, and volunteers are provided with compensation in line with regulations,” Insider quoted the spokesperson saying.
Based on the FlightAware report, the flight was recorded as delayed by one hour and 39 minutes.
Condé Nast Traveler reported that while overbooking is more common, passengers being removed from a flight due to weight restrictions do occur, albeit infrequently.
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Edited by Arnab Nandy
