A traveler recounted an embarrassing incident where a fellow passenger was asked to weigh herself on a baggage scale before a flight, sparking a heated debate on social media.
The incident which happened in March of 2023, captured in a now-deleted video that gained over 1.6 million views on TikTok, raised questions about whether airlines discriminate against plus-size travelers.
"The whole airport trying to mind their own business as a woman is asked to step on the baggage scale because she claimed she was 130lbs," captioned TikTok user @lilwessel.
She further explained, "It's a tiny plane so they needed our weight to take off for safety reasons."
The brief video, filmed at an anonymous airport, shows the passenger in question stepping onto the luggage scale while surrounded by other travelers.
This incident sparked a mixed reaction among viewers, with one commenting, "Why are people so mean."
"That's not ok," voiced another user, expressing disapproval of the situation.
A third shared their personal experience, "Flying home from the Philippines and they weighed me ... I have never been so embarrassed in my life."
However, some viewers supported the airline's decision.
"Why would she lie and risk all our lives including hers lol," one user critiqued the passenger for not being truthful about her weight.
"They care about weight limits on small planes because they need to have the center weight in a certain part of the plane," explained another, highlighting the safety implications of weight distribution on smaller aircraft.
"Does she not know she can write it down on a sheet of paper if she doesn't want to announce it?" suggested another viewer, offering a privacy-preserving alternative.
"What my mom does lol."
This incident occurs amid growing accusations from body-positive influencers that airlines fail to accommodate plus-size passengers adequately.
Recently, a plus-size TikToker argued that airplane aisles should be wider to cater to larger passengers, labeling the current design as "discrimination."
She also posted a now-deleted video demonstrating her difficulty navigating a United Airlines plane, needing to turn sideways to pass through the rows of seats.
The body-positivity advocate faced significant backlash, with critics suggesting she should avoid flying.
One critic argued that making aisles wider would mean fewer seats and less profit for airlines to "accommodate the supersized."
In 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration advisory hinted that airlines might soon require plus-sized passengers to be weighed or to provide their weight before boarding to gather updated data on average passenger weights, reflecting the increasing obesity rates in the US.
This measure aims to ensure small aircraft do not exceed their maximum allowable weight, enhancing safety for all passengers.
According to the guidelines transcribed by AirInsight, operators may choose a passenger for weight verification, stepping "on a scale before boarding the aircraft," with the provision that "the scale readout should remain hidden from public view" to maintain privacy.
Yet, the regulatory body later clarified that while weighing passengers was an option, airlines were likely to employ alternative methods for estimating passenger weight, such as making "a reasonable estimate about the passenger's actual weight and add 10 pounds," to respect individual privacy.