New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority has plans for its national airline to start weighing passengers before flights from Auckland International Airport.
The program, set to run through July 2 is being called a passenger weight survey and will provide data on the weight load and distribution for Air New Zealand’s international flights, CNN Travel reported.
“We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft — from the cargo to the meals onboard to the luggage in the hold,” Alastair James, the airline’s load control improvement specialist, was quoted as saying.
“For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey,” he added.
The airline has claimed that the weight records will be kept anonymous and out of sight during the process.
Passengers will be expected to stand on a digital scale during pre-flight check-in, and the information will reportedly be submitted to a database but will not be viewable to the in-person agent.
“We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight, not even us,” James continued in his statement.
Air NZ has required passengers to step on the scales previously, during a survey in 2021, but this is the first time the regulation will affect international travelers, said the airline.
One of the first groups to take part in the new program, will be those traveling direct from Auckland to New York’s JFK Airport.
The 17-hour flight was introduced last fall as a milestone in Air NZ’s post-pandemic revamp, and is one of the longest flights in the world.