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Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before boarding

You may want to forgo the heavy boots and hoodie if you have plans to fly one international airline.

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Air New Zealand will be weighing passengers from now through July 2, CNN reported.

The airline is calling it a passenger weight survey, and it will be used to get data on how much weight planes are carrying and how it is distributed.

The Independent reported that the survey will be conducted on more than 10,000 people, all voluntarily.

It will be conducted on international flights out of Auckland International Airport, Forbes reported.

Those who may be selected for the survey may be on a direct flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to JFK Airport in New York City. The flight lasts 17 hours and is one of the longest in the world, CNN reported.

The airline also has direct flights between Auckland and Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Forbes reported.

The same survey was conducted on domestic passengers in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the international flight survey until now. The airline said that New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority requires the test every five years.

“We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft — from the cargo, to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold,” Alastair James, Air New Zealand load control improvement specialist told CNN in a statement.

Typically the airline uses average weights for passengers, crew members and carry-ons. The survey will help the airline configure the averages.

Travelers, who will be anonymous, will stand on a scale when they check in for a flight. But the weight will not be displayed on the agent’s screen.

“We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight, not even us,” James said, according to CNN.

Luggage will be placed on an identical scale for weighing.

The 2003 survey of 15,000 people found that the average weight of passengers and their carry-ons was about 188 pounds, Forbes reported.