So much baggage: THIS airline is weighing passengers along with their carry-ons before departure

Don’t be surprised if you are weighed at the airport along with your baggage because a new regulation is currently being tested out by European carrier Finnair at its Helsinki Airport hub where volunteers are being weighed before departure.

The practice, the airline believes, will allow authorities to gauge weight estimates before a plane takes off as well as identify those who try to sneak in extra carry-ons onto the aircraft.

Talking to CNN, Finnair’s senior vice president of communications, Päivyt Tallqvist said that the weighing-ins are completely anonymous and are not linked with passengers’ data or tickets.

The trials started on Monday and by Thursday morning, 800 volunteers had already signed up for the trials.

“We have communicated about this survey to Finnair customers via our social media channels and our mobile app, and the first volunteers were proactively asking to take part even before the equipment was set up,” Tallqvist said.

Finnair is aiming to weigh 1,200 passengers over the winters and more during the summers.

Describing the impetus behind the trials, Tallqvist said after weighing the volunteers, officers would collate the data about the average weight of passengers and their carry-ons “for the purpose of aircraft balance and performance calculations that are needed for the safe operation of flights.”

This is, however, not the first time, an airline has conducted such a trial. In 2023, both Korean Air and Air New Zealand conducted their own weight surveys.

After it collects data for both summers and winters, Finnair will send its data to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency for verification.