Major airlines now want to weigh you before flights
Some carriers ask passengers to step on the scale before boarding.
Going through the airport can be an extremely tedious process. You have to check in your luggage and make sure it's the right weight. You must remove your belt and shoes before go through security . And after all that, you still have to find your way to your true front door. Now, some carriers are trying to introduce yet another pre-boarding requirement that will likely make most travelers uncomfortable. Read on to find out why major airlines weigh passengers before flights.
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Air New Zealand began weighing passengers this summer.
If you've recently traveled overseas from Auckland International Airport, you may have been asked to step on a scale before your flight.
At the end of May, Air New Zealand launched its passenger weight survey programme. collect data on aircraft load and weight distribution, as required by the country's Civil Aviation Authority, CNN reported.
Air New Zealand ran the program until July 2 with the aim of collecting data from 10,000 passengers. Travelers were asked to stand on a digital scale when checking in for their flight at Auckland International Airport, and information about their weight was then submitted anonymously for the survey.
“We weigh everything that happens on board the plane, from freight to meals on board, including checked baggage,” Alastair James , the airline's load control improvement specialist, said in a statement to CNN. "For customers, crew and hand luggage, we use average weights, obtained through this survey."
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Today, another major airline is doing the same.
Air New Zealand may have already ended its month-long passenger weighing program, but it is not the only carrier asking travelers to step on a scale.
From August 28, those traveling with Korean Air may also be asked to get weighed before boarding their flight, CNBC reported. A Korean Air representative told the outlet that it is required by law to weigh passengers and their carry-on baggage at least every five years.
Korean Air will conduct a weight survey of domestic passengers at Gimpo Airport until September 6. Then, from September 8 to 19, passengers departing from Incheon Airport on international flights will also be stopped for measurements, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
"Korean Air passengers will be asked to step on a scale with their hand luggage at each boarding gate," an airline official told the Korean newspaper. "The data collected anonymously will be used for investigation purposes and does not mean that overweight passengers will have to pay more."
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Some argue that carriers have to weigh passengers for safety reasons.
Speaking to CNBC, the Korean Air rep said weighing passengers before they board is "crucial to safe flight operations."
According to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Transportation and Health , many aircraft operate on the basis of passenger estimates that are "often out of date", as the average weight of the world's population has increased over the years. The researchers noted that some regions with higher rates of obesity "could begin to see their safety margins significantly compromised if the trend of increasing weight continues."
In this spirit, Shem Malmquist , an instructor at Florida Tech's College of Aeronautics, told CNBC that airlines randomly weighing passengers to collect better sample data is probably a good idea. ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
“We use average passenger weights, but people are getting a lot heavier,” Malmquist explained. "Three hundred people who weigh more than the average can add significantly to the weight of an aircraft, and all of our performance calculations (runway length, climb, obstacle clearance, landing distances, altitude capabilities) depend all weight, among other things."
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But other experts say weighing passengers is unnecessary.
Vance Hilderman , CEO of airline security firm Afuzion, told CNBC that it was "absolutely not" reasonable for major airlines to weigh passengers — at least not for security reasons.
"If you're in a small Bombardier, a small Embraer plane, and we had 10 very obese people...it might make a little difference," he explained. “On commercial aircraft, from a 737 and above, you know, 120 people, we have it built in.”
According to Hilderman, aeronautical software can adapt to different factors, including changes in weight and air density. Safety is therefore not easily compromised, even when the composition of passengers includes those who weigh more than the average traveller.
Beyond that, he told CNBC that other trends offset weight differences.
"The Americans are getting heavier. The Chinese too, the Koreans too," Hilderman said. “But we’re also flying younger… so that’s actually offsetting the increase in average human weight.”
