"Plane too heavy to take off"... Airline requests passengers to 'disembark'

71 Million Won Paid to Customer Who Accepted Request
Airline: "According to Regulations... Compensation Provided"

A controversy arose when a passenger plane departing from Spain to the UK requested some customers to disembark in order to reduce the aircraft's weight.

According to British media outlet 'Mirror' on the 10th (local time), the departure of a low-cost airline 'easyJet' passenger plane, which was scheduled to take off from Lanzarote Airport in Spain on the 5th and head to Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the UK, was delayed.

The original scheduled departure time was 9:45 PM that day. However, the plane showed no signs of moving even as the takeoff time approached. Shortly after, an announcement was made to the passengers waiting for takeoff.

The captain explained in the announcement, "There are too many passengers on board, making the aircraft heavy," and added, "Currently, this airport has a short runway and the wind direction is unfavorable, combining several adverse conditions."

The interior of an 'easyJet' passenger plane preparing to depart from Spain to the UK on the 5th (local time). [Image source=TikTok]

He continued, "After discussions with the operations team, we concluded that the solution to this problem is to lighten the aircraft," and requested, "We would like to ask up to 20 passengers to give up traveling to Liverpool tonight."

The captain also offered, "For those who disembark now, we will provide an incentive of up to 500 euros (approximately 710,000 KRW) per person."

The passengers' reactions to the announcement were mixed. Some protested, saying, "I want to go home tonight," while others began unbuckling their seat belts.

A passenger recorded the situation and uploaded the video to the short-form video platform 'TikTok,' where sounds of passengers murmuring and unbuckling seat belts can be heard.

After some difficulties, 19 passengers disembarked from the aircraft. Eventually, the plane took off around 11:30 PM, about two hours later than the originally scheduled departure time.

Meanwhile, easyJet stated, "The safety and welfare of passengers and crew are the airline's top priorities," and explained, "If a flight exceeds weight limits, passengers are asked voluntarily to take the next flight, and they are provided with compensation according to regulations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.