easyJet responds after passengers faraway from flight as airplane deemed ‘too heavy’
An easyJet flight from Southend to Malaga was delayed after five passengers volunteered to disembark due to weight restrictions caused by weather conditions and the short runway
easyJet asked passengers to disembark(Image: Getty)
easyJet has responded after an aircraft was prevented from departing until five passengers got off because it was too heavy. The carrier said the incident at Southend airport, Essex on April 11 occurred because safety remains its “highest priority”.
Online publication Your Southend reported that the captain initially declared that the service to Malaga, Spain, would be grounded unless either six travellers left the aircraft, or all baggage was removed. The service ultimately took off after five people volunteered to abandon their journey.
They were given transport to Gatwick airport, where they caught a flight to Malaga the same day. Passenger Carly Mowbray told Your Southend: “The people who got off departed to a round of applause from those of us that stayed.
“The flight crew said they had not experienced it before.” She continued: “There were already 10 empty seats before the extra passengers got off.”
One passenger who remained on the aircraft, Kelly Wayand, 45, who works as an independent travel agent, said: “I honestly couldn’t believe what was happening – I thought he was joking at first.
“It was bizarre, I had never heard anything like it before. The pilot came out of his cockpit and told everyone we couldn’t set off unless six of us got off the plane. He said it was either that or we leave all of the luggage behind.
“I was travelling with my dad, who is disabled, my mum, and my partner, so it would have been hard work for us to get off. Five people got off fairly quickly in around 10 minutes.”
Flight records reveal the aircraft – an Airbus A319 – was scheduled to depart at 8:40 am but it left at 8:59 am.
EasyJet confirmed the flight was delayed by 12 minutes. An Airbus A319 has a maximum take-off weight of 75.50 tonnes, according to Airbus.
EasyJet said in a statement: “Five passengers on flight EJU7008 from Southend to Malaga on Saturday volunteered to travel on alternative flights as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions and the short length of the runway.
“Weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reasons.
“The customers were provided with transport and a later flight to Malaga on the same day, free of charge, from London Gatwick and we have been in touch with them to provide the compensation they are entitled to, in line with regulations.
“The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
A similar incident occurred on an easyJet flight on the same route back in 2014.
The responsibility falls on airlines and passengers to negotiate compensation amounts when passengers voluntarily choose not to travel on a booked flight.
Under UK261 regulations, passengers who are denied boarding for a medium-haul flight such as between Southend and Malaga are entitled to £175 or £350 compensation, depending on the duration of the delay.
Southend airport’s 1,856-metre runway is shorter than many utilised by easyJet, meaning pilots have less distance to achieve the necessary take-off speed.
