Advertisement

The airline that will weigh its passengers

Shutterstock

Shutterstock

Travellers to Uzbekistan might want to cut back on the junk food.

Uzbekistan Airways says it will begin weighing passengers with their hand baggage at the gate as part of new ‘safety’ measures.

• Where you travel reveals your personality type
• Plane lands safely despite suffering horror hailstorm
Flying somewhere? Then don’t watch this video

“After passing check-in on flight and prior to boarding into the aircraft, we will suggest you to pass the procedure of weighing with the special weighing machine placed in the departure gate zone,” the company said on its website.

The airliner says it is just following international regulations.

“According to the rules of International Air Transport Association, airlines are obliged to carry out the regular procedures of preflight control passengers weighing with hand baggage to observe requirements for ensuring flight safety.”

But a spokesperson for the association told CNN no such rule was in place.

“We are not aware of an IATA rule concerning the weighing of passengers and their hand luggage prior to flight,” Chris Goater, manager of IATA corporate communications told the network.

“All airlines have policies in place for load calculations, weight and balance of their aircraft. These policies in turn are subject to the rules and regulations of their national aviation regulator.”

It isn’t the first time an airline has put its flyers on the scales.

In 2013 Samoa Air announced it would slug passengers by the pound.

Uzbekistan Airways didn’t say if it would exclude overweight travellers from flying.

But it did promise to keep the results to itself.

“Full confidentiality of results is guaranteed,” it said in the statement.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.