Here's why airlines weigh passengers

23.09.2023 - 16:19 / thepointsguy.com

Stepping on the scale can be stressful. So can air travel. Now imagine needing to weigh yourself before you can board your next flight.

That's what Korean Air travelers flying domestically through Seoul's Gimpo International Airport (GMP) and Incheon International Airport (ICN) were set to experience after the airline announced it would weigh passengers with their carry-ons to measure the average weight of passengers.

But Korean Air faced such swift backlash that it ultimately took down a notice related to weighing passengers on its website just days after the announcement, according to CNBC.

Air New Zealand also made headlines in May for weighing its passengers departing from Auckland Airport (AKL) for international flights.

The practice — although controversial to many travelers — is actually fairly standard within the airline industry.

And there's good news for those who may not be thrilled about having to see the scale: The airlines aren't paying attention to each passenger's individual weight, at least on most commercial jetliners. Instead, they're looking for a real-world average so that they can better plan things like fuel use and cargo capacity.

Related: Korean Air becomes latest carrier to stop selling most first-class seats

Airlines may also occasionally weigh passengers so they can recalibrate the weight distribution of their aircraft in order for them to safely take off and land, according to Blaise Waguespack, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who specializes in airline marketing and operations.

"If you don't have the right weight balance profile, a wrong gust of wind — boom, you'll drag the tail," he said.

Knowing how much weight an aircraft can handle can be important in situations where an aircraft is operating in an area with sweltering temperatures, for example.

Bob Thomas, an Embry-Riddle professor at the university's aeronautical science department, said in areas that can get extremely hot, airlines may need to reduce the weight on their aircraft in order to take off.

"Most people don't realize that the weight just doesn't affect your actual take-off distance, but it also affects making sure that you can climb over obstacles afterwards," Thomas said.

Related: Air New Zealand announces pricing for new in-flight sleep pods

Weighing passengers is especially common for airlines that operate smaller aircraft, where the individual weight of each passenger is actually more important.

"The issue of weighing passengers is that every airplane has a weight and balance program, whether you're a small airplane or a big airplane," Michael Suckow, a professor at Purdue University's School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, said.

Suckow said airlines that fly planes