FINNAIR, the flag carrier airline of Finland, have announced that they will begin weighing volunteer passengers, including hand luggage, before boarding their flight.
The anonymous exercise will see volunteers weighed, with data being used to refine important flight safety calculations.
No customers will be forced to take part in the weigh-in.
Finnair will use the data collected to re-calculate the average weight of passengers on board.
Whilst airlines know the exact weight of the aircraft, hold luggage, fuel, cargo, food and water, the weight of passengers is unknown, with airlines using an average.
Finnair last calculated average passenger weight in 2018 – the figure is re-evaluated every five years.
The weigh-ins will take place at Helsinki Airport between February and May this year, with the data then being verified by Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency during the summer.
Finnair hope to collect a large pool of willing volunteers in order to gain the most accurate data possible for the all-important sums.
Ensuring that the aircraft’s centre of gravity is in a suitable point is imperative for safety and stability.
A 2018 plane crash in Cuba that left 112 passengers dead was caused by a miscalculation of the plane’s weight and balance.
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