When a Plane is Too Heavy: A Flight's Weighty Dilemma

EasyJet recently faced a rather peculiar situation. A flight overloaded with passengers, preparing to journey from Lanzarote, Spain to Liverpool, UK, was too heavy to take off. The airline offered passengers willing to disembark 500 euros compensation.

Ryan Williams, a passenger on the flight, documented the unusual offer on his TikTok account. In the video, the pilot is heard announcing that anyone willing to leave the flight would receive payment.

"Because there are so many of you on the flight today, the aircraft is too heavy," said the pilot. "With Lanzarote's short runway and winds interfering with takeoff, the plane is too heavy to lift off under these conditions."

The pilot explained to the surprised passengers that due to safety measures taken by the crew, there was no chance the plane could take off. He added that "the only way in this situation is to lighten the aircraft. That will solve the problem."

The pilot asked for 20 volunteers to agree to deboard the plane in exchange for 500 euros. A spokesperson for the airline later confirmed that 19 passengers ultimately accepted the offer. "This is a standard operational decision under such circumstances and given the constraints on site, any airline would decide this way," they said.

The spokesperson also mentioned, "In cases where a flight exceeds allowable weight limits, the airline asks passengers to volunteer to take a later flight for free, and volunteers are given appropriate compensation, which is what happened here."

The flight landed safely at its destination with a delay of an hour and forty minutes.