There have been several cases of flights being delayed. Well, there has been a new incident where passengers on a flight were asked to get off the airplane for an unconventional reason. According to reports, around 19 passengers who were onboard an EasyJet flight from Lanzarote to Liverpool, were asked to get off the plane, citing that the flight was too heavy to take off from the runway. Reportedly, the flight was supposed to take off at 9:45 PM, but took off around 11:30 PM due to the delays.
Captain Urges People to Volunteer
According to reports, a video has gone viral on social media where the captain of the plane is seen interacting with the passengers and explaining the onboard situation. Reportedly, the passengers were asked to volunteer to choose not to fly. In the video, he explained that the heaviness of the aeroplane, difficult weather conditions, and short runway were the main constraints for the delay of the flight.
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He said, “That heavy aircraft, combined with a pretty short runway and the current unfavourable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off. I’ve been sitting with my senior first officer, and we’re very experienced with this and have done this before. 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, and the direction isn’t great.”
#easyJet‘s Captain asked 20 passengers to leave the aircraft because it was overweight and wouldn’t be able to takeoff from #Lanzarote due to wind and warm weather. The flight from Lanzarote to #Liverpool was delayed by about 2 hours.
__razza699/TikTok#Spain #uk #aviation pic.twitter.com/oa8pi4Imox
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) July 8, 2023
He then suggested a solution and asked 20 passengers to volunteer and choose not to fly themselves, as this would reduce the weight of the aircraft. Initially, the passengers were not impressed by the ill-preparedness of the plane and criticised the move. However, around 19 of them agreed to get down, and finally the plane took off from the airport.
What Did The Airlines Say?
The spokesperson of the airline said that this was a routine operation decision for the airline, and there are weight restrictions on every flight before takeoff. However, the airline offered an incentive of up to EUR 500 per passenger who volunteered to get off the plane.