Air New Zealand passengers must be weighed prior to boarding

Until 2 July, passengers on Air New Zealand international flights departing from Auckland Airport will be assessed for investigation purposes by the airline.

Weigh your bags and weigh yourself. New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority has asked its national carrier, Air New Zealand, to now weigh every passenger on international flights departing from Auckland Airport until 2 July 2023, according to several media outlets including CNN.

Described as a passenger weight survey, the airline justified the initiative as a way to collect data on aircraft load and weight distribution.

“We weigh everything on board – from cargo to meals on board and checked baggage,” Alastair James, the airline’s cargo control optimization specialist, said in a statement. “For customers, crew baggage and cabin baggage, we use average weights, which is what we get by taking this survey.”

Scale is different from the size of the bags

In an effort to protect the privacy of its customers, the airline claims to have made the data anonymous.

Passengers will be asked to stand on a digital scale when checking in for their flight. Information about their weight is then given to the questionnaire but will not be visible on the screen of the agent responsible for their registration.

They will also put their luggage on another similar scale of separate weight.

Alister James confirmed: “We know getting on the scale can be intimidating. We want to reassure our customers that there are no visible screens anywhere. No one can see your weight, not even us.”

A measure already introduced in 2021

If the news shocks you, it is nothing new. This isn’t the first time Air New Zealand has implemented the measure: domestic travelers took part in a survey in 2021, but a survey of international travelers has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among those most likely to be asked to take part in the survey are those who fly on a direct flight from Oakland to New York’s JFK, an airline for the 17-hour nonstop extra-long flights.