EasyJet forces 19 passengers to deboard Lanzarote flight due to weight overload

More than a dozen passengers were removed from an easyJet flight because the plane was “too heavy to take off” resulting in 19 passengers having to board a different flight at a later time

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Tara McCormack

21:31, 8 JUL 2023
Updated22:02, 8 JUL 2023

Easyjet asked passengers to get off the plane as it was too heavy for takeoff (Image: (Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images))

Passengers traveling on an easyJet flight from Lanzarote to the UK were asked to disembark the aircraft due to concerns that its weight exceeded the safe limit for takeoff.

The scheduled departure time for the flight from Arrecife Airport in Lanzarote to Liverpool was 9:45pm on Wednesday, July 5. However, the plane did not depart until 11:24pm.

Upon passengers' boarding, a crew member addressed them and conveyed that due to the substantial number of passengers, the aircraft had become considerably heavy.

This, combined with a relatively short runway and unfavourable conditions at Lanzarote, rendered the aircraft unfit for takeoff due to its excessive weight.

The moment was captured in a viral Tiktok video posted by Ryan Williams.

Speaking via the PA system, the pilot says: “Because there are so many of you, it’s a pretty heavy aircraft we’ve got today. That heavy aircraft combined with a fairly short runway here in Lanzarote and some winds, which aren’t completely favourable at the moment, mean that the current environmental conditions here in Lanzarote, the aircraft is too heavy at the moment to depart.

The video has racked up over 66k views on TikTok (Image: Tiktok @razza699)

“Of course the one way to solve a problem with a heavy aircraft is to make it slightly lighter. If possible, I’d like to ask for up to potentially 20 volunteers to choose not to fly to Liverpool tonight.”

According to The Independent, an easyJet spokesperson said: “easyJet can confirm that 19 passengers on flight EZY3364 from Lanzarote to Liverpool yesterday evening volunteered to travel on a later flight as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions. This is a routine operational decision in these circumstances and weight restrictions are in place for all airlines for safety reasons."

“In the event that a flight would exceed weight limits, we ask for passengers to volunteer to transfer to a later flight free of charge, which is what happened on this occasion, and volunteers are provided with compensation in line with regulations.

The spokesperson added, “The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”

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