The passengers were too heavy. Two planes were not enough, a third plane had to be provided
The weight of the passengers was much higher than the norm. The plane could not take off because the pilots were afraid that they would run out of fuel during the flight. It was decided to take unusual steps.
The crew of the Japan Airlines plane decided not to take off due to the plane’s weight exceeding the norm. There were too many passengers weighing up to 120 kg on board. The fear that the flight would run out of fuel led to an unusual step. An additional plane was hastily organized to take some of the travelers.
They were flying to a sports festival, but they were too heavy
Lack of fuel can cause a lot of problems. Passengers who flew from Katowice to Frankfurt last week, but due to insufficient diesel fuel had to turn back after 20 minutes, know this. Concerns about the amount of fuel on board a Japanese plane heading to a sports festival have led to extra transport being arranged. People traveling to sporting events shouldn’t weigh a lot? Not if we are dealing with dozens of sumo wrestlers.
According to The Guardian, the wrestlers were scheduled to fly on Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Haneda airports in Tokyo and Itami airports in Osaka to Amami Oshima, an island in the Ryukyu archipelago where the tournament was held. However, Japan Airlines was forced to operate an additional flight after verifying the passengers’ identities. The staff found out he would be carrying the heaviest people in the country the evening before his scheduled flight. The estimated weight of one competitor is 120 kg, which is well above the average of 70 kg per passenger.
The airlines coped with the unexpected situation
The flights were in danger of exceeding the permissible weight, so it was decided in a hurry to organize a third plane and separate passengers with “non-standard” weight. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, the runway at Amami airport would not be able to accommodate the larger plane, forcing Japan Airlines to provide additional aircraft and staff for the 27 wrestlers.
“This is an extremely unusual situation. Additional flights due to the aircraft’s excessive weight are practically non-existent,” a Japan Airlines spokesman told regional newspaper Minami-Nippon Shimbun.
According to Japanese media, an additional flight was organized to take the wrestlers after the tournament ended on Sunday.
