British airline EasyJet leaves 19 passengers as plane was 'too heavy' to take off
EasyJet left 19 passengers on the runway in Lanzarote, Spain as the plane became 'too heavy' to take off due to weight and weather conditions. The pilot offered a 500 euro incentive for volunteers to stay behind.
British airline EasyJet left 19 passengers on the runway as the plane reportedly became 'too heavy' to take off.
The flight from Lanzarote's Arrecife Airport to John Lennon Airport, Liverpool, was delayed because of the heavy weight of the, as well as, severe weather conditions.
According to a report by Manchester Evening News, the EasyJet flight was supposed to take off at 9:45 PM on Wednesday but it could not take off until around 11:30 PM.
The pilot in the video narrated the situation about why the plane could not take off. He said the heavy aircraft and short runway and the weather conditions were the three major constraints.
In a video, the pilot of the flight can be heard telling passengers about the delay. "Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you it's a pretty heavy aircraft, the pilot was heard saying in the video.
"That heavy aircraft combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavorable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off. I've been sat with my senior first officer and we're very experienced with this and have done this before. With safety as our number one priority, there is no way, with the current wind conditions, that we could get this aircraft airborne. There are a number of factors - it's very hot, the wind isn't fantastic, the direction isn't great".
He then suggested measures to lighten the aircraft.
“Now, you might be wondering what happens next and that's what I've come in here to say. I have spoken with our operations team and the one way to solve a problem with a heavy aircraft is to make it slightly lighter".
The pilot asked 20 passengers to volunteer themselves and choose not to fly.
The pilot also announced an incentive of 500 euros for those who will voluntarily choose to stay back at the airport.
However, passengers were not impressed by the incentive on offer or the ill-preparedness of the airline.
“If possible, I would like to ask up to 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight. If anyone wants to volunteer there will be an incentive. The current number we've been quoted by Easyjet is up to €500 per passenger who is willing to not fly tonight,” the pilot said.
Eventually, 19 passengers agreed to stay back at the Spain airport, the news report added.