UK-based EasyJet has removed 19 passengers from a flight from the Spanish island of Lanzarote to Liverpool. This was explained to tourists by the fact that otherwise, the plane would not be able to take off due to exceeding the weight limit and weather conditions, reports Newsweek.
A video of the passengers disembarking was posted on TikTok by a user named Ryan Williams and quickly went viral. He commented on the recording: “EasyJet asked passengers to get off the plane because it was too heavy to take off.”
An airline official told Newsweek that the 19 passengers on board flight EZY3364, which departed from the Spanish island of Lanzarote to Liverpool, England, on July 6, agreed to travel later because the plane’s weight exceeded weight limits due to weather conditions.
“This is a common decision in these circumstances and weight restrictions exist for all airlines for safety reasons. If the weight limit is exceeded on the aircraft, we ask passengers to transfer to a later flight free of charge, which is what happened in this case. Volunteers are compensated by the rules,” explained an EasyJet representative.
According to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, passengers may be “asked or compelled to give up” a seat on an aircraft in certain situations. This is known as “de-boarding” or “denied boarding”. This happens when a flight has been overbooked with passengers who may not show up for boarding, or for other reasons such as using a smaller aircraft than planned.
At the same time, according to the rules, if a passenger voluntarily leaves the flight, the airline must provide him with compensation in the form of cash or vouchers. Volunteers are also entitled to either a refund or booking an alternative flight.
EasyJet passengers who wanted to get off the plane were offered “up to €500 per passenger,” according to the plane’s pilot’s announcement made over the speakerphone. “Because there are so many of you, we have quite a heavy plane today. This weight, combined with the short runway here in Lanzarote and some winds that are not exactly favorable at the moment, means that the aircraft is too heavy to take off in the current conditions. The only way to solve a heavy airplane problem is to make it a little lighter. If possible, I would like to ask potentially up to 20 volunteers to cancel the flight to Liverpool tonight,” said the pilot.
Several TikTok users commented on the video, noting that they voluntarily rushed to leave the plane. “Did you hear how many seat belts unbuckled when he said 500 euros?” – wrote one of them. “My arm would go up so fast I’d dislocate my shoulder,” added another. And a third user commented: “Um… getting paid to stay on vacation a little longer? Yes please”.