Korean Airlines Weighs Passengers Before Boarding

However, passengers have the right to refuse this request from South Korea's second-largest airline, Asiana Airlines. The airline's passenger weighing plan starts today, January 22, and lasts until January 31, and applies to international flights departing from Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul, according to the Korea Times .

Standard weights are used to distribute the weight of the aircraft and enhance operational safety.

Hãng hàng không Hàn Quốc cân hành khách trước khi lên máy bay- Ảnh 1. — More and more airlines weigh passengers

In December 2023, Asiana Airlines also weighed about 5,000 passengers on domestic flights. Another South Korean airline, Korean Air Lines, also weighed passengers last August.

In Southeast Asia, some airlines in Thailand have also implemented a passenger weighing program in October 2023.

The passenger weighing measure was initiated to allow airlines to check and calculate standard and average passenger weights. The data collected will help airlines distribute weight more efficiently on international flights, contributing to reducing aircraft fuel consumption, while improving service efficiency, in line with safety standards. All data collected is kept strictly confidential.

However, airlines’ practice of weighing passengers has not always been well received. Last May, the US press was abuzz when a video was shared of a female passenger being forced to step on a scale “like a luggage scale” before the plane took off.

Hãng hàng không Hàn Quốc cân hành khách trước khi lên máy bay- Ảnh 2. — Passenger weighing sign at Auckland Airport, New Zealand recently

The video attracted nearly 2 million views on social media at the time. Many criticized the airline for discriminating against plus-size passengers, calling it a "humiliating measure." However, many supported it, saying that small planes should be required to weigh passengers before takeoff for safety reasons.

Regarding passenger weighing, Shem Malmquist, a lecturer at Florida Tech Aeronautical University, explains: "Airlines use average passenger weight, but people are getting much heavier. 300 people heavier than average can cause a plane to be significantly overweight, while all performance calculations such as runway length, altitude, obstacles, landing distance... depend on weight."

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