SAA to weigh passengers
2009-12-15 14:32
Johannesburg - SA Airways launched a passenger weighing survey on Tuesday in an attempt to reduce overloaded aircraft.
"This is critical...because an aircraft can run off a runway. It can be catastrophic if we don't do this," said Captain Johnny Woods, head of flight operations.
He said the airline wanted to prevent aviation incidents like the recent incident in George involving a different airline last week.
An SA Airlink aircraft skidded off a runway at George Airport and landed near the N2 freeway. There were 30 passengers on board at the time. Three sustained minor injuries and no fatalities were reported.
Woods said SAA wanted to weigh all its passengers and their hand luggage to ensure that flights were not overloaded.
"The information is then used, with the average weights of cargo, fuel and checked-in baggage, to calculate the correct and safe take-off and landing weight of an aircraft," he said at a media briefing at OR Tambo International Airport.
The survey is done every five years and the company wanted to weigh at least 4 000 passengers travelling on international, regional and domestic routes, starting on Tuesday. About 300 crew members would also be weighed.
Woods said the exercise, which was only being carried out in Johannesburg, was in line with the operator's focus on safety of passengers.
He said if people and luggage weighed too much, the company may resort to reducing the number of passengers on flights.
The survey was voluntary and consisted of two scales - one for the person, and one for hand luggage - being set up at terminals. It takes just a few seconds for volunteers to stand on the scale, be weighed and then walk away. No personal details or names were needed.
Meanwhile, Airlink has until next Monday to address issues raised by the transport ministry and SA Civil Aviation Authority, following the incident, and another near Durban.
- SAPA