A major carrier has revealed a new move it will do at the gate and it’s caused an uproar.
A major carrier has revealed a new move it will do at the gate and it’s caused an uproar.
Finnair has revealed that it will be weighing passengers as well as their luggage from now on.
Finland’s national airline announced that the move, which will be carried out on a voluntary basis in May, will hopefully improve balance calculations for better flight safety, according to the New York Post.
“Finnair will collect data by weighing volunteering customers and their carry-on baggage at the departure gate,” a statement from the company read.
“The weighing is voluntary and anonymous, and the data will only be used to optimise Finnair’s current aircraft balance calculations.”
Finnair went on to explain that weighing travellers will help ensure that their planes don’t exceed the set maximum weight set for aircrafts, which is the maximum amount they can bear before they take off.
The company has promised that it will not use flyers’ personal data.
Weighing travellers will help ensure that planes don’t exceed the set maximum weight set for aircrafts. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
“We use the weighing data for the average calculations required for the safe operation of flights, and the collected data is not linked in any way to the customer’s personal data,” Finnair’s head of ground processes, Satu Munnukka, shared in a statement.
Munnukka said the airline won’t ask for the name or booking number of the travellers who offer to be weighed.
Many have flooded X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their shock over the airline’s move.
“I will not be travelling via @Finair as I won’t be #fatshamed by a bloody airline. Am I alone? (ie. I never weigh myself: my choice),” one unhappy person shared.
“#Finair are to start weighing their passengers? Have I read that correctly? I am utterly shocked! And disgusted,” another chimed in.
The data will be collected to help the national airline calculate average passenger weights going forward when determining the weight and balance of its aircrafts – which all pilots need to be aware of prior to takeoff.
“Three hundred people that weigh more than average can put an airplane significantly over weight, and all of our performance calculations — runway length, climb, obstacle clearance, landing distances, altitude capabilities — all are dependent on weight, among other things,” Shem Malmquist, an instructor at Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics, shared with CNBC.
Most European airlines make their calculations using the mean passenger weight as determined by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The agency found that men have a mean weight of 82.2kg while women average at around 67.5kg.
Air New Zealand announced in May last year that it too would be weighing passengers travelling overseas. Photo / Air New Zealand
Multiple domestic carriers such as United, Spirit, Frontier, Hawaiian and American ask customers who are unable to fit in one seat to buy a second ticket.
Some people allege that airlines have made the width of their seats smaller in order to make more money out of each flight.
Finnair joins Korean Air, Hawaiian Air, Uzbekistan Airways and Air New Zealand in the group of air carriers that weigh flyers.
Korean Air passengers were shocked last year after a new law was passed that required domestic flights to weigh travellers and their carry-on luggage at least once every five years.
