In an unusual measure towards aircraft load balancing, Finnish carrier Finnair has launched a voluntary campaign requesting select passengers get weighed at arrival and departure gates including their hand baggage. This intends aiding periodic refresh of datasets used for onboard mass distribution factors as per civil aviation requirements.
Individual weights or passenger information however don’t get specifically recorded or tracked after raw collection undertaken across next 3 months spanning various routes. Authorities mandate updating averages every 5 years for flight stability oversight.
Industry Follows Global Precedent
While the practice raised few civil liberty red flags earlier, authorities contend datasets entirely anonymized with consumer participation alone don’t risk privacy violations or discriminatory profiling while serving important flight safety purposes.
Previous instances of optional weigh-ins have emerged on Hawaiian, Korean Air and Jetstar Asia among other domestic players also pointing to globally synchronized protocols. Though uncommon in isolation, associations deem narrow goal-oriented execution acceptable.
