Flying in America can be a pain. Long lines, invasive searches by TSA, and hidden charges are only a few of the irritants associated with air travel. Now, some airline passengers apparently have to worry about the indignity of getting weighed prior to their flight.
In a TikTok with over 1.6 million views, Lillian (@lilwessel) showed viewers a woman standing on top of a luggage scale. “The whole airport trying to mind their own business as a woman is asked to step on a BAGGAGE SCALE because she claimed she was 130 lbs,” Lillian wrote via text overlay.
@lilwessel It’s a tiny plane so they needed our weight to take off for safety reasons🤦🏼♀️ #fyp #pedropascal #travel #CapCut ♬ New Home by Austin Farwell – GetByBus
Aircraft weight and balance are important considerations when it comes to ensuring a safe flight—particularly on smaller planes. If the weight limit is exceeded, airlines regularly redirect customers or luggage to another plane.
Because of this, many customers empathized with the airline’s decision. Others discussed how weight and balance are important on smaller planes.
“They kicked a very heavy man off my plane once and he cried,” one user commented. “Felt bad, but it was a 16 seater. No way he was flying.”
“They care about weight limits on small planes because they need to have the center weight in a certain part of the plane,” another user explained.
“Yup, done the 12 seater, the 8 seater, they put me and my bag right on the baggage scale. It’s standard,” a third commenter wrote.
Other viewers, however, expressed outrage that Lillian posted a video of a stranger to TikTok.
“In general, it’s not nice to take pictures of people without permission and post,” a fourth comment read.
“You guys are too comfortable posting random people. … Imagine if she saw this?” another asked.
It is unclear which airline the woman was flying with.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lillian by email.