“An airline has announced that it will begin weighing passengers along with their carry-on luggage to more accurately estimate the weight of the plane before takeoff.””This controversial measure comes from Finnish airline Finnair, which informed the media that it began ‘metering’ passengers departing Helsinki on Monday. ‘So far, more than 500 volunteer customers have participated in the weighings,’ said spokeswoman Kaisa Tikkanen.
Finnair, which offers low-cost flights to and from Finland to the United Kingdom, said in a statement that airlines calculate the weight of the plane, its interior and the passengers on board to balance the flight and ensure safe transit. Airlines can use average weights provided by aviation authorities, supposedly around 88kg, or collect their own data, she said. Finnair assured future passengers that the data collected is not linked ‘in any way’ to customers’ personal data in its statement.
“‘Only the customer service agent working at the measurement point can see the total weight, so you can participate in the study with complete peace of mind,’ said Satu Munnukka, ground process manager at Finnair. But some social media users were left horrified by the announcement as they believe it will lead to shaming for overweight passengers, describing the plan as ‘cruel’. Some people said the news meant they would not be taking Finnair in the near future, while others praised the plan as ‘a way to tackle the obesity crisis.’”
“One user harshly criticized the airline, stating that he would not travel on Finnair because he would not allow himself to be ’embarrassed by a damn airline,’ adding that they never weigh themselves by choice. Another angry user said: ‘Will Finnair start weighing its passengers? Did I read that correctly? I am completely shocked and disgusted!’”