Travelling to Korea soon this year? You might be asked to weigh yourself before being allowed to board the plane! Korean Air has just announced its latest move to weigh its passengers on both domestic and international flights starting 28th August 2023 as part of Korea’s aviation regulations to assess the “standardised passenger weight” across airlines—something that’s done regularly every 5 years or so.
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What does this mean for tourists travelling to Korea? If you’re flying into Incheon from 8th to 19th September 2023, you’ll be asked to step on a weighing scale along with your carry-on baggage at the boarding gate.
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Naturally, this news has been met with much recoil, with netizens seeing it as an invasion of privacy—as Koreans are especially sensitive about weight, with an explicit weight stigma existing in Korean society. Passenger weight (with baggage) recommended by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is 88.4 kg for adult males and 70.3 kg for adult females.
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Aside from the discomfort from having their weight revealed to other passengers present, further concerns expressed by travelers include the question of if they will be charged some kind of “overweight baggage fee” if they weigh more, or if they will be able to bring more baggage onboard if they weigh less. To answer these burning questions: Korean Air has assured travelers that data on passengers’ weight is collected “anonymously”, and purely for “survey purposes”; ie. “overweight” passengers won’t be charged more.
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The good news is: if passengers really don’t want to be weighed, they won’t be forced to and won’t be penalised for refusing either. Additionally, the practice of weighing passengers won’t be a permanent thing—thank goodness—only during the stipulated dates and just to collect information regarding the average passenger weight. So, what do you think: how would you feel if Singapore Airlines were to start weighing their passengers as well?
