A traveler has revealed that one of her fellow passengers had to weigh herself on a luggage scale for “the whole airport” before boarding the plane.
The woman, named Lillian, explained that everyone had to share their weight with the flight crew for “safety reasons” – but when the workers suspected a person wasn’t being honest about the number, they made her stand on a scale.
Lillian shared a photo of the woman, who was not identified, being weighed TikTok earlier this year, and it sparked a fierce reaction from viewers who were divided on the situation.
Some criticized the airline for ’embarrassing’ the woman and others beat her for ‘lying’ about her weight and ‘risking’ the ‘lives’ of the other passengers.
A traveler has revealed that one of her fellow passengers was forced to weigh herself on a luggage scale for “the whole airport” before boarding the plane
The woman, named Lillian (seen), said everyone had to share their weight with the crew for ‘safety’ – but when they suspected a person was lying, they made her stand on a scale
“The entire airport trying to mind their own business because a woman is asked to step on the luggage scale because she claimed she weighed 130 pounds,” Lillian wrote in the video, alongside the photo of the woman and an actor’s meme Pedro Pascal holding a sandwich.
Lillian shared a photo of the woman, who was not identified, that was weighed in on TikTok, and it sparked a fierce reaction from viewers who remained divided on the situation
She added in the caption, “It’s a small plane so for safety reasons they needed our weight to take off.”
People quickly took to the comment section to share their thoughts.
“That’s not okay,” one wrote, while another asked, “Why are people so mean?”
Another person revealed that they once found themselves in a similar situation, saying that they had “never been so embarrassed in their life.”
“This customer embarrassment could have been avoided,” another commenter noted.
“I’d cry,” someone else admitted.
Others defended the airline, while another user joked, “No, because why would she lie and risk our entire lives, including hers?”
Some criticized the airline for “embarrassing” the woman and others beat her for “lying” about her weight and “risking” the lives of the other passengers
“Weight and balance are very important in small planes,” said another, while another agreed, “It’s not personal…it’s life or death.”
Many airlines around the world have required weight checks for passengers traveling on smaller aircraft – to ensure the aircraft is balanced and does not exceed the safe limit.
Uzbekistan Airways, which flies mainly between Asia and Europe, announced in 2015 that it would start weighing people to “ensure flight safety.”
The airline said in a statement at the time, per CNN: ‘Complete confidentiality of results is guaranteed.’
A man who traveled between Hawaiian Islands on Mokulele Airlines earlier this year revealed that he was asked about his weight at check-in.
“I flew in a Cessna 208 small plane. A Cessna 208 has an empty weight of 4,730 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds,” he wrote in a blog post about his experience.
‘So Mokulele wants to make sure that the total weight of pilots, crew, passengers and baggage does not exceed the maximum take-off weight.
“Besides the total weight, airlines flying lightweight aircraft, such as a Cessna 208, also have to consider the balance between the front and rear and left and right of an aircraft.
“That’s why you don’t get a boarding pass or seat assignment when you check in on my Mokulele Airlines flight.
‘Once everyone has checked in, the gate agent takes everyone to the gate and tells everyone where to sit.
“This is done to make sure everything is in line with the weight and balance needs of the aircraft.”