Air New Zealand wants to weigh you before your flight. Here’s why

Why are passengers being weighed?

As bizarre as it sounds, there is a perfectly valid explanation for this move. It is part of a survey to fulfil a regulatory requirement by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, aimed at ensuring smooth and safe air travel.

The weight of a loaded aircraft is a crucial component in maintaining the balance of the aircraft and ensuring optimal performance. It is typically measured by adding the weight of the empty aircraft with that of the passengers, baggage and fuel. The Air New Zealand survey aims at updating its record of the first two factors.

“We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft – from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold. For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey,” Alastair James, who serves as the Load Control Improvement Specialist at the airline, said in the statement.

James assured that the weighing process will be anonymous and that the individual numbers will not be displayed in the airport or even to the airline staff. “We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight – not even us! It’s completely anonymous,” he said, adding that participation will be on a voluntary basis.

As per the airlines, passengers using its domestic airlines underwent a similar exercise in 2021. Typically, customer and crew weight surveys in New Zealand are carried out every five years.

The importance of weight

The weight of an aircraft is a crucial component that governs the choices a pilot has to make while operating the flight. The pilot has to intricately balance the weight of passengers, baggage and fuel to ensure that the aircraft is not overloaded. As per the US Federal Aviation Administration’s Weight and Balance Handbook, if an aircraft is overloaded, it would need a higher takeoff and landing speed, which, in turn, calls for a longer takeoff run and landing roll. It would also reduce the manoeuvrability of the aircraft and place excess pressure on landing gear, resulting in wear and tear.

The maximum weight an aircraft can carry is also significantly impacted by the length of the runway at the departure and arrival airports and whether there is wet grass or water on the runway.

While the weight of a particular empty aircraft is more or less fixed, that of the fuel and the passengers vary considerably.

For instance, the assumed average weight of an adult varies on the basis of country, gender, and even season. A report in SMH Traveller magazine suggests that in the US, the weight of an adult male (including carry-on luggage) is set at around 90 kg in summer and 93 kg in winter, that of an adult female passenger+carry-on is set at around 81 kg in summer and 83 kg in winter, and a child (between 2-12 years) is set at around 37 kg in summer and 39 kg in winter. In Europe, these are set at around 84 kg, 66 kg and 30 kg respectively, regardless of the season.

Past incidents

Misjudging the weight and balance of the aeroplane has resulted in dangerous episodes in the past.

In July 2020, British charter airline Tui Airways Limited took off with an actual weight that was nearly 1,200 kg higher than calculated due to a software error that slotted 38 adult passengers as children. The plane that was flying from Birmingham airport to Majorca in Spain allocated a standard child’s weight of 35 kg to 38 adult female passengers, instead of the standard estimated weight of 69 kg each.

The error was attributed to miscommunication as the passengers had identified themselves as “Miss” rather than “Ms”, while the airline software had been programmed to identify “Miss” as a child and “Ms” as an adult woman. Though the flight had proceeded without incident, UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch had termed it a “serious incident.”

A Cuban flight that took off from the Havana airport in May 2018 was not as lucky. The Boeing 737-200 aircraft crashed shortly after take-off, killing 112 passengers. A government investigation commission report attributed the crash to a miscalculation of the aircraft’s weight and balance by the crew members, which resulted in a loss of control and the collapse of the aircraft during takeoff.