20 passengers were asked to volunteer to "choose not to fly".
A UK-based airline, EasyJet, asked 19 passengers onboard a flight from Lanzarote to Liverpool to get off the plane as it was "too heavy to take off", as per a report in the Independent. The incident took place on July 5, and the flight was delayed due to poor weather and the aircraft's weight. The plane was supposed to take off at 9.45 pm but did not depart from Spain's airport until 11.30 pm after passengers were asked to volunteer to "choose not to fly".
In a video recorded by a passenger, the pilot said, "Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you, it's a pretty heavy aircraft we've got today." s
"That heavy aircraft combined with a fairly short runway here in Lanzarote, and some winds which aren't completely favourable at the moment, mean that with the current environmental conditions here in Lanzarote, the aircraft is too heavy at the moment to depart," he added.
As per the pilot, there was "no way" that the aircraft could fly, given the wind condition and safety being their company's priority. "There are a number of factors - it's very hot, the wind isn't fantastic, the direction isn't great. Now, you might be wondering what happens next and that's what I've come in here to say. I have spoken with our operations team and the one way to solve a problem with a heavy aircraft is to make it slightly lighter," he added.
He then invited up to 20 passengers to choose to leave the plane and "not fly to Liverpool tonight". The pilot also announced that EasyJet would provide incentives of up to 500 euros to each passenger for not continuing with their journey.
In a statement to Independent, an EasyJet spokesperson said that 19 passengers finally volunteered to leave the flight. They told the outlet, "Easyjet can confirm that 19 passengers on flight EZY3364 from Lanzarote to Liverpool yesterday evening volunteered to travel on a later flight as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions. This is a routine operational decision in these circumstances and weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reasons."
"In the event that a flight would exceed weight limits, we ask for passengers to volunteer to transfer to a later flight free of charge, which is what happened on this occasion, and volunteers are provided with compensation in line with regulations," the spokesperson concluded, adding that the safety of the passengers and their staff is the airline's highest priority.