It’s not unusual for airlines to lay on extra flights when passengers need to be evacuated from a particular destination. But this is something entirely different.
Japan Airlines says it was forced to bring in an extra plane because a group of Japanese sumo wrestlers were deemed too heavy to fly on a crowded aircraft.
The Guardian says Japan Airlines took the “very unusual” step of moving a number of sumo wrestlers to “a hastily arranged special flight last week” because the two aircraft they were supposed to fly in wouldn’t have been able to carry enough fuel due to weight restrictions.
Reports say the average Japanese person weighs 70 kg, but the sumo wrestlers weighed in at around 120 kg each.
A larger aircraft might have done the trick, but reports say the runway at the island airport couldn’t accommodate a bigger plane, which forced Japan Airlines to bring in another jet.
