Five passengers voluntarily left an easyJet flight from London Southend to Malaga after weight restrictions prevented the aircraft from taking off safely. The flight, EJU7008, was scheduled to depart at 8.40am on Saturday but faced issues due to adverse weather conditions and the relatively short runway at Southend.
EasyJet confirmed that the aircraft was “over the weight limits for the weather conditions and the short length of the runway”. Passengers were given three options: six people could leave voluntarily, the luggage could be offloaded, or the flight would be cancelled. With 30 minutes to decide, five passengers agreed to disembark.
Passenger Carly Mowbray told Your Southend: “I was on the flight. We were told option one: six people get off. Option 2: they leave the luggage, or Option 3: we go nowhere. We had 30mins to resolve it.” She added that “there were already 10 empty seats before the extra passengers got off” and that the remaining passengers applauded those who left.
Southend airport's main runway is 1,856 metres (6,089 feet) long, considerably shorter than Stansted’s 3,049-metre runway. All five customers were provided with transport to London Gatwick and a later flight to Malaga, and will receive compensation in line with regulations. Under UK Civil Aviation Authority guidelines, compensation for voluntarily being “bumped” is agreed between airline and passenger.
Despite the delay, FlightAware data shows the three-hour flight departed only 12 minutes behind schedule at 8.52am. EasyJet said: “The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”
