Step on the scale: Airline says it will weigh passengers before flying
Korean Air announced that it will start weighing customers travelling on its flights.
South Korea’s largest airline said its decision to weigh passengers isn’t meant to be a body-shaming tactic. Rather, the information will be used to collect and better understand plane weight data.
The policy will apply to both domestic and international flights, the airline told Daily Hive. The measure is also temporary.
In a statement, a Korean Air representative said passengers will be weighed with their carry-on baggage on domestic routes departing from Gimpo International Airport between August 28 and September 6.
Weighing will take place for passengers departing on international routes from Incheon International Airport between September 8 and 19.
“Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MOLIT) has advised all Korean flag carriers to weigh passengers with their carry-on baggage to update its ‘Aircraft Weight and Balance Management Standards,'” Korean Air said in a statement to Daily Hive.
“This is crucial for [the] safety of flight operations, and Korean Air complies with this mandate and remains committed to safety, its number one priority.”
The data will be collected anonymously and passengers who wish to opt out of the process can let staff know before boarding.
Korean Air isn’t the first airline to weigh passengers.
In May, Air New Zealand announced it would implement the measure temporarily until July 2023 for safety reasons.
Passengers were only weighed for international flights out of Auckland International Airport and they had the option to opt out of the process as well.
“We are conducting a survey to measure the average weight of our passengers, including cabin baggage, on international flights,” wrote Air New Zealand officials in a statement at the time.
“For safety reasons, we need to know the weight of all items onboard the aircraft. For passengers, crew and carry-on bags, we use average weights that we get every five years through this survey.”
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