Birmingham: Dozens of easyJet passengers were ordered off a plane and threatened with arrest if they refused. Because the aircraft was too heavy to take off.
The flight from Birmingham to Geneva had been over-filled with fuel. And to save weight, the captain asked 37 passengers — many of whom were last to check in — to get off. When some passengers refused, they were told police were waiting in the airport terminal and would arrest them.
Many of the remaining passengers thought they had escaped unscathed. But when they landed four hours late, they discovered their luggage had also been taken off the plane to lighten the load. Jane Webb, 65, was on the Boxing Day flight with her two daughters and four grandchildren, heading for a skiing holiday in Saint Gervais, France. She told how the captain announced he had "bad news". "He said they had over-fuelled the plane and he was going to have to ask around 37 passengers to get off. He offered £100 (Dh570) and overnight accommodation to anyone who offered to get off. But when pressed they could not guarantee a next-day flight to Geneva.
"About seven or eight people offered to give up their seats, but they then decided the last 20-odd people to get off the plane would be those who checked in last.
She added: "We were lucky because we had checked in early. But there were a couple of young girls in front of us and they were dreadfully upset. They asked the crew what would happen if they didn't get off and were told there were three policemen waiting for them outside and they would be forced off."
