A woman claims an airline weighed a passenger on the baggage scale to make sure she wasn't too heavy for their plane. Lillian, known as @lilwessel on TikTok, has shared a short clip of a woman appearing to be weighed for everybody to see before boarding her flight.
In the video, she wrote: "The whole airport trying to mind their own business as a woman is asked to step on the baggage scale because she claimed she was 130lbs." The 24-year-old says the "tiny plane" needed their passenger's correct weight for "safety reasons".
While most users slammed the unnamed airline for being so "cruel", others claim this is common practice. One user said: "Airports are out of control."
"Flying home from the Philippines and they weighed me… I have never been so embarrassed in my life," another user added.
A third user said: "That's not OK."
However, one user argued: "They care about weight limits on small planes because they need to have the centre weight in a certain part of the plane."
"I've seen exactly this at my job. I'm a medic intern and some meds are weight based so it's important we ask," another user said.
A sixth user added: "Weight and balance is really important on small aircraft."
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA), weighing passengers and their luggage before boarding could help ensure an aircraft does not become overloaded.
They say this is more critical for smaller aircrafts as it more accurately determines "balance calculations", rather than using estimates or trusting customers on their word.
A statement on NJ.com reads: "In lieu of weighing passengers, airline employees could ask how much a traveller weighs.
"To account for a traveller who might low ball their weight, the FAA advised 'the operator should make a reasonable estimate of the passenger's actual weight and add 10 pounds'.
"If an airline opted to weigh each passenger on a scale, it would take place before boarding the aircraft, the FAA notice said, advising airlines to protect the privacy of passengers by keeping the scale readout hidden from public view."
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