Passengers Told Get Off Over-Fueled Plane Or Face Arrest
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After an EasyJet plane was overloaded with fuel, dozens of passengers were ordered off the plane and threatened with arrest if they refused.
The plane sat on the tarmac for a half hour before the captain announced he had some 'bad news,' explaining the flight from Birmingham, England to Geneva, Switzerland was topped off with 11 tons too much fuel.
As a solution, the captain asked for volunteers to get off the plane. He ended up forcing the last 37 passengers who checked in to get off.
Some passengers who refused to deplane were informed that three police officers who were waiting in the terminal would arrest them if it became necessary, Daily Mail reports. The incident happened in late December, but has just come to light.
"He offered £100 ($155) and overnight accommodation to anyone who offered to get off -- but when pressed they could not guarantee a next day flight to Geneva," passenger Jane Webb, 65, tells the newspaper. Webb, who was traveling with eight other family members for a skiing trip, had checked in early and was not forced off the plane.
But passengers weren't the only thing removed from the plane.
When the flight arrived in Switzerland, Webb was horrified to find her luggage -- and that of several other passengers -- was removed from the flight to save weight back in England. She did not receive her baggage for another five days, forcing her family to buy long underwear and other essentials for their vacation in France.
A spokesman from Easyjet apologized and said an investigation has been launched.
"We'd like to sincerely apologize to the passengers affected by the weight restrictions on the flight from Birmingham, resulting in some passengers and bags being offloaded," says the spokesman.
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lets see 11 tons of fuel to much so they kicked 37 passengers off the plane that means each of the 37 passengers and their bags weighed 594 pounds , I don't think so!
January 12 2011 at 8:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyKen and everyone that is not smart enough to figure it out. The airline did not say the plane was 11 tons overweight, they said it had 11 tons more fuel than needed. It seems that the plane could hold that 11 tons..... minus 37 passengers and their luggage. So if they had of put 7 tons to much fuel in plane I say that everyone could have stayed on and it would have not been overweight. THIS IS A SIMPLE MATH STORY PROBLEM!
January 12 2011 at 12:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyOkay, we are talking about 22,000 pounds too much fuel. Even if every passenger of the 37 weighed 200 pounds, which is not likely, that would only be less than 8,000 pounds. It just could not make that much difference! If the fuel tanks were that large it must be because they were made to hold that much fuel don't you think? My friend said he had been on a flight where they sat on the ground and burned off fuel for a while. they could also jettison fuel in the English channel if they were worried about landing with too much. This all sounds like a mess where no one with a grain of sense was in charge - sort of like going to Wendy's.
January 12 2011 at 1:13 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe pilot tells me they have loaded an extra 22 THOUSAND POUNDS OF FUEL on a flight I'm on, I assure you, I will be the FIRST person off that plane!
January 11 2011 at 11:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyFar to often public transportation has taken the position that control by arbitrary action is a standard in operating procedure . In order to regain the most miniscule amount of respect
we must force these modes to recignize that the consumer can choose to travel by other sources. Then run a compitation among the carriers for the best price and consideration Onece done use that carrier prodominetly for a period of three months so that no one becomes to comfortable . By use of entente we can achieve our common goal.
Hmmmm Lets see...37 passengers and luggage...average 250 lbs per person times 37= 9250 lbs or a little over four and a quarter tons....Eleven tons eguals 22,000 lbs.22,000 subtract 9250= 12,750 lbs that the plane is still overloaded.It certainly makes me wonder.....Maybe it's blue yonder magic making it stay in the air......hmmmmmm..
January 11 2011 at 7:48 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNiot an airline I'll ever use...
January 11 2011 at 7:44 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI believe they got the overweight number wrong...maybe 11,000 lbs overweight...take off 37 passengers, most of the checked bags....and the taxi burn....and that sounds more like it. IDK bout the fueler though....you would think he would question the amount of fuel...it's not like they don't do this every day.....I would question an excess of what I would normally put in.
It's very hard to get people off an a/c once they are on...and procedure is ...you do take the last checked in and remove them if you cannot get enough volunteers....however, in a situation like this....they could have made the compensation a little more enticing!
You get what you pay for. With a name like "Easy Jet" I think it's self explanitory. Remember our own good Old Value Jet with the Florida evergalde tour at no extra charge?
Kenny Nash
youtube Kenny Nash "DESIRE"
What, did the guy refueling the plane step out for coffee and a danish while he was refueling? How else do you put 11 TONS TOO MUCH in a commercial aircraft?
January 11 2011 at 5:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySounds like something that would happen on Delta.
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