easyJet pilot asks 20 passengers to get off the aircraft due to overweight and short runway

On 5th July 2023, an easyJet flight from Lanzarote to Liverpool was delayed by about two hours after the captain asked 20 passengers to leave the aircraft because it was overweight.

The Airbus A320-200 with registration G-EZTL was scheduled to depart as flight U23364 at 9:45 p.m. local time but was delayed due to strong winds and warm weather. The captain determined that the aircraft was too heavy to take off safely in the current conditions, and asked passengers to volunteer to leave the flight.

In a video filmed by one of the passengers, the pilot said: “Thank you all for getting here today. Because there are so many of you it’s a pretty heavy aircraft. That heavy aircraft combined with a pretty short runway and with the current unfavorable conditions here in Lanzarote, means the aircraft is too heavy to take off. I’ve been sat with my senior first officer and we’re very experienced with this and have done this before.”

“With safety as our number one priority, there is no way, with the current wind conditions, that we could get this aircraft airborne. There are a number of factors – it’s very hot, the wind isn’t fantastic, the direction isn’t great.”

19 passengers volunteered to leave the flight and were offered €500 each as compensation. The flight eventually took off at 11:33 p.m. and arrived in Liverpool at 3:00 a.m. local time.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “easyJet can confirm that 19 passengers on flight EZY3364 from Lanzarote to Liverpool yesterday evening volunteered to travel on a later flight as a result of the aircraft being over the weight limits for the weather conditions.

The spokesperson added that “the safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”