Passengers of an EasyJet plane flying from Arrecife, Spain to Liverpool were asked to voluntarily leave the cabin, as the liner could not take off due to overweight, reports The ECHO.
According to the portal, on the day of departure, adverse weather conditions were observed in the region, in particular, strong winds. When the passengers of the flight had already taken their seats in the cabin and were preparing for takeoff, the pilot got in touch with them.
The captain of the aircraft said that the plane was too heavy and it would be simply impossible to take off in such wind.
“Because passenger safety is our priority, with the current wind strength, there is no way we can get this plane airborne. I’ve spoken to our task force, and the only way to fix the problem is to make the plane a little lighter.”
The pilot offered the volunteers to leave the cabin, receive 500 euros from the company as compensation, and fly on the next flight. To make the weight of the aircraft acceptable, twenty passengers had to get out of it. At first, no one expressed a desire to leave. But after some time, 19 people still left the salon. As a result, the flight was delayed by almost three hours.
An EasyJet spokesman said the pilot’s request was not unusual.
“This is a normal operational decision in such circumstances. Weight restrictions apply to all airlines for safety reasons. In this case, volunteers who left the board are compensated by the rules of the airline,” the airline explained.