Airline pays $16,800 to bump 19 passengers too heavy to take off

EasyJet paid passengers not to fly this week. Photo / Supplied

Passengers aboard a plane departing Spain for Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport had a rude interruption to their journey, after the captain of the service told them they were “too heavy to take off”.

The easyJet plane departing Lanzorote’s Arrecife Aiport on Wednesday informed travellers they would have to offload 19 passengers, or else they would be going nowhere.

Adverse weather conditions had already delayed the late-evening service which was due to depart Spain at 9.45pm. Flight U2 3364 did not take off until just before midnight.

The lateness of the service meant that there would not be an opportunity to be transferred to another flight.

Passengers listened in disbelief to the PA, some recording the announcement and extraordinary cash offer to passengers willing not to fly.

“Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you it’s a pretty heavy aircraft.”

“That heavy aircraft, combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavourable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off,” announced the pilot of the laden aircraft.

“With safety as our number one priority, there is no way, with the current wind conditions, that we could get this aircraft airborne,” he apologised, detailing the issues facing their departure including wind direction and air temperature.

“‘Now, you might be wondering what happens next…” he said.

The only way to safely take off was to make the aircraft lighter, so they needed passengers to voluntarily get off the full A320 service.

To do that, they offered passengers a lump sum in compensation and cover for expenses.

“I would like to ask up to 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight. If anyone wants to volunteer there will be an incentive. The current number we’ve been quoted by easyJet is up to €500 ($884) per passenger who is willing to not fly tonight.”

@razza699

This is madness 🙈🙈😱#fyp #easyjet #lanzarote #Liverpool #johnlennon #Airport #holiday #flying

♬ original sound - Ryan Williams

The airline was willing to pay passengers nearly €10,000 in order to take off.

From a video recording of the message, uploaded to TikTok by razza699, this did not appear to be nearly enough, as there were no direct services home with easyJet until the Saturday.

Shaking their heads, passengers can be heard voicing this was not nearly enough. “I want to go home tonight,” one passenger was heard saying.

The waylaid service did eventually take off, with 19 passengers fewer. U23364 did not arrive in Liverpool until 3am.

The carrier confirmed to the Liverpool Echo the passengers willingly deplaned and were compensated, although it did not detail how much each passenger was paid.

“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 safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”

How much would you take not to fly?

Nobody wants to be bumped.

However, if you are denied board or a plane service has to offload passengers, airlines must offer compensation to affected travellers. How much depends on where you are flying from and how long the journey is.

The pilot of U23364 was very clear that the “current number quoted” was €500 ($884) per passenger, but they could have offered more.

In the EU the minimum compensation for journeys over 1500km and under 3500km is €400 and €250 for journeys shorter than this.

In the US they are more stringent. For disruptions of over one hour, minimum denied boarding compensation is up to 200 per cent of a one-way fare or US$775 ($1250). This increases to US$1550 ($2500) or 400 per cent for delays over two hours on domestic and four hours on international services.

If your bump delays your arrival by less than an hour, you are not entitled to compensation.

In the case where passengers have to voluntarily deplane, all carriers can do is make an offer and hope it is accepted. You do not have to take the first offer and airlines will often increase this offer, but odds are someone else is willing not to travel for the quoted amount.

“Did you hear how many seatbelts unbuckled when he said €500,” wrote one comment on razza699′s video.

Another pointed out that they would happily have taken three days’ extra holiday, if they were willing to compensate €3000 ($5304) for his family of four.

The day prior a Delta Airways flight caused a sensation by offering US$1600 ($2580) per passenger to disembark an overbooked flight.

“Delta just offered $1600 PER PERSON to get off of the flight from Vegas to Atlanta because of the heat index,” she wrote. …. has anyone ever heard of getting this much $$$ to switch flights?” tweeted one traveller.

From Las Vegas to Lanzarote, hot summer air temperatures are causing issues. When temperatures are raised the air can become too thin, reducing the maximum weight at which an aircraft is cleared to safely take off.