UK Airline Removes 19 Passengers From Flight As Plane Was "Too Heavy To Take Off"

In a bizarre incident, 19 passengers onboard easyJet flight flying from Lanzarote to Liverpool, were asked to disembark the plane as it was “too heavy to take off”.

The incident took place on July 5. The flight which was scheduled to take off around 9:45 pm, was delayed due to poor weather conditions and the plane’s weight. It finally took off at around 11:30 pm after several passengers were asked to volunteer to “choose not to fly”.

AFP

What were the passengers on the flight told??

In a video recorded by a passenger, the pilot said, "Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are 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 favourable at the moment, mean that with the current environmental conditions here in Lanzarote, the aircraft is too heavy at the moment to depart," he added.

As per the pilot, there was "no way" that the aircraft could fly, given the wind condition and safety being their company's priority. "There are a number of factors - it's very hot, the wind isn't fantastic, the direction isn't great. Now, you might be wondering what happens next and that's what I've come in here to say. I have spoken with our operations team and the one way to solve a problem with a heavy aircraft is to make it slightly lighter," he added.

He then invited up to 20 passengers to choose to leave the plane and "not fly to Liverpool tonight". The pilot also announced that EasyJet would provide incentives of up to 500 euros to each passenger for not continuing with their journey.

The airline's reaction

While talking to The Independent, an easyJet spokesperson confirmed that 19 passengers volunteered to travel on a later flight. “This is a routine operational decision in these circumstances and weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reason,” the spokesperson added.

The airline added that the safety of its passengers and crew is “always easyJet’s highest priority”.As per The Daily Mirror, the flight landed at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport at around 3 am on July 6.

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