Airline wants to weigh passengers before they board flights

Finnair has stressed that all data collected is anonymous

Passengers flying with Finnair will be asked to step onto the scales at the departure gate as part of a data-collecting initiative.

The policy at Helsinki Airport, which began on Monday and will take place in February and April–May, is strictly voluntary and anonymous, and the airline said that “data will only be used to optimise Finnair’s current aircraft balance calculations”.

Gates for a number of the carrier’s long-haul flights and European routes will be selected for the scheme.

The Independent has contacted Finnair for further information, including how many people have agreed to take part this week. According to The Guardian, more than 600 fliers have volunteered so far.

Since 2018,

A Finnair Airbus A350 (Finnair)

has used average weights based on its own measurements, but aviation authorities require these figures to be updated every five years.

Satu Munnukka, head of ground processes at Finnair, said the weighting date is needed for “the safe operation of flights” and that any information collected “is not linked in any way to the customer’s personal data”.

“We record the total weight and background information of the customer and their carry-on baggage, but we do not ask for the name or booking number, for example. Only the customer service agent working at the measuring point can see the total weight, so you can participate in the study with peace of mind,” Munnukka added.

Once the weights are confirmed, they will be used by the airline for balance and loading calculations between 2025 and 2030.

The previous measurements saw “a good number of volunteers” and the airline hopes for a similar sample size this time, said Munnukka.

Last year, more than 10,000 passengers flying with Air New Zealand throughout June were asked to step onto the scales before they boarded their flights.

It was described as an “essential” initiative to ensure “the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft”, according to Air New Zealand, and was also a requirement from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Two months later, passengers travelling on South Korea’s largest airline, Korean Air, faced the same experience.

As The Independent has reported previously, weighing every passenger before a flight can increase safety and cut the environmental harm caused by each flight; currently, airlines use “assumed mass”, estimating the total weight of the passengers by using set figures.