Pilot Forced To Ask Passengers To Leave Plane After The Aircraft Exceeded ‘The Weight Limits’ For Takeoff

Jul 11, 2023 by apost team

Airlines have specific safety requirements especially because of the risk that air travel poses to passengers. Flight attendants train heavily to make sure that they are prepared for every safety and security risk that they might encounter when miles away from land. 

Likewise, pilots, as the captains of the aircraft, also hold a huge responsibility to ensure that the souls on board are safe at all times. In July 2023, one easyJet pilot had to make the hard decision to ensure that the plane they were flying was safe and ready for takeoff. 

A flight from Lanzarote's Arrecife Airport in Spain to John Lennon Airport in Liverpool was the subject of complaints when it was delayed for more than an hour because of the plane’s weight and the adverse weather conditions at the time. 

The Liverpool Echo described the predicament and explained it was because the plane was “too heavy” to take off. Reports said that the flight was supposed to take off at 9:45 p.m., but it did not leave the airport until 11:30 p.m. 

The pilot faced the passengers and described the plane to be a “pretty heavy aircraft.” 

"That heavy aircraft combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavourable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off. I've been sat with my senior first officer and we're very experienced with this and have done this before,” they revealed. 

What surprised everyone was the way in which the pilot offered to solve the problem at hand. 

Like flight attendants, pilots are also in charge of making important decisions when it concerns the safety of the people inside the aircraft. 

"With safety as our number one priority, there is no way, with the current wind conditions, that we could get this aircraft airborne. There are a number of factors — it's very hot, the wind isn't fantastic, the direction isn't great,” he clarified. 

However, the adverse weather conditions weren't the only thing that needed to be addressed at the time. He also told the passengers that the only solution to the problem was to make the plane “slightly lighter.” 

He then proceeded to ask a big question of the passengers. 

"If possible, I would like to ask up to 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight. If anyone wants to volunteer there will be an incentive. The current number we've been quoted by easyJet is up to €500 per passenger who is willing to not fly tonight,” he said at the time. 

According to Liverpool Echo, many expressed their displeasure with the situation and said they needed to go home to Liverpool that night.

Later on, they confirmed that 19 passengers had volunteered to leave the flight in exchange for the €500 (approximately $549) travel incentive. 

"easyJet can confirm that 19 passengers on flight EZY3364 from Lanzarote to Liverpool yesterday evening volunteered to travel on a later flight as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions,” a spokesperson of the airline said in a statement. 

More so, they clarified that it was a “routine operational decision,” and weight restrictions like these are in place for safety reasons. 

"The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority,” they furthered.

apost.com

What can you say about the airline’s decision to remove 19 passengers from the flight? Do you think it was only fair of them to offer €500 (approximately $549) in exchange for the inconvenience? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other loved ones to know their thoughts!