Major airline to weigh passengers – would you step on the scales?

Airline passengers are well accustomed to weighing their luggage and keeping bags light ahead of departure, but many travellers flying with one airline will soon be asked to step on the scales themselves.

Yes, you read that correctly — passengers themselves will be weighed.

Throughout the month of June all Air New Zealand passengers travelling internationally from Auckland airport will be asked to step on the scales to participate in the airline's passenger weight survey.

Why will some Air New Zealand passengers be weighed?

Despite this not being a requirement for every-day aviation travel, the process has occurred countless times throughout the industry, with this routine procedure allowing airlines to calculate the average weight of a passenger.

This average weight is crucial for airlines to accurately measure an aircraft's weight and ensure it remains within structural limitations to fly through the air.

"We know stepping on the scales can be daunting," Air New Zealand load control improvement specialist Alastair James told Newshub. "We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere."

The airline said participation is voluntary and their survey is "essential to the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft and is a Civil Aviation Authority requirement".

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The Civil Aviation Authority says it is "dangerous" to load an aircraft with no observance of its weight and balance stipulations, highlighting the importance of these airline conducted surveys. Maximum takeoff and landing weights of a plane need to be known to determine the appropriate airspeed the aircraft should travel at, with a heavier load having less climb performance.

The commercial airline industry safely transports millions of passengers across the globe every year, with the regularity of air travel arguably making it easy to forget the complex physics involved.

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