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Five passengers voluntarily disembarked an overweight easyJet flight to Spain after weather conditions prevented the aircraft from taking off.
Flight EJU7008 from London Southend to Malaga was scheduled to depart at 8.40am on Saturday, but weight restrictions raised safety concerns onboard.
According to easyJet, the aircraft was “over the weight limits for the weather conditions and the short length of the runway”.
Passenger Carly Mowbray said: “I was on the flight. We were told option one: six people get off. Option 2: they leave the luggage, or Option 3: we go nowhere. We had 30mins to resolve it.”
As reported by Your Southend, she added: “There were already 10 empty seats before the extra passengers got off. It was a rough start to a short weekend getaway.”
Southend airport has a shorter main runway than most major aviation hubs at 1,856 metres (6,089 feet) long. In comparison, Stansted airport’s runway measures approximately 3,049 metres (10,003 feet) in length.
Passengers were applauded as they walked off the easyJet Airbus A319, said Carly.
EasyJet added that all disembarked customers were provided with transport and a later flight to Malaga from London Gatwick, and will be provided compensation “in line with regulations”.
Per UK Civil Aviation Authority guidelines, “If you volunteer to be bumped, it’s up to you and your airline to agree compensation”.
Passengers on cancelled medium-haul flights are usually entitled to between £175 and £350, depending on how long their delay was.
FlightAware data shows that the three-hour flight to Malaga eventually departed from Southend just 12 minutes behind schedule.
EasyJet said: “The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
Read more: I’m a pilot. Here’s why airlines have become so strict about luggage weight limits
