As many Americans get ready for summer travel, some are reconsidering the means by which they’ll get to their destination.
While air travel used to be a no-brainer, recent incidents have travelers worried. In fact, in a March 2025 poll commissioned by The Points Guy and conducted by The Harris Poll, around 65% of respondents said they were nervous about flying given recent incidents.
Although air travel is still safer than most other forms of travel, outdated software and a shortage of air traffic controllers have caused massive delays in travel as of late. And, as a result, travelers are viewing all incidents with a healthy dose of suspicion.
Such is the case in a recent video from TikTok user Cally (@c_wickson_) in a video with over 799,000 views.
What happened on this flight?
In her video, Cally shows a plane in which people appear to be switching seats.
“They just had to move people around to ‘balance’ the plane… hubs is not okay,” Cally writes in the text overlaying the video.
Immediately, commenters began to share in Cally’s husband’s worry.
“Hell no!! I would have made them let me get off,” wrote a user.
“That’s not what I want to hear while flying. Bring on the alcohol,” offered another.
Why do planes need to be ‘balanced’?
While Cally and her husband may have been startled by this request, it’s actually relatively normal in the world of flying, especially when a flight isn’t totally full.
As explained by Simple Flying, the weight of an aircraft, including passengers, baggage, and cargo, must be specifically distributed to ensure balance and a safe takeoff. Failing to do this can lead to instability and potential issues with takeoff and landing.
If too many passengers are seated in the front or rear, passengers may be asked to switch seats so that the load of passengers, cargo, and baggage is ideal for the plane.
Although some commenters questioned why smaller and larger people were seemingly distributed the same amount, there’s actually an explanation for this. In general, airlines assume an average passenger weight when making calculations. In the process of redistributing, no one is being specifically targeted for their weight or size.
@c_wickson_ Kids and family are settled in, now we’re off to 📍 #keywest for one of my best friend’s #wedding #travel #airplanemode ♬ original sound – Cally
Commenters sound off
In the comments section, users offered their thoughts on plane weight distribution and their own experiences with the practice.
“I once ended up on a 10 seater plane with a pilot and a copilot and I was the only passenger,” recalled a user. “When I tried to sit directly behind them and they made me move all the way to the back to balance the plan.”
“They moved me on time because of weight. I was 110lbs. The man next to me had to be over 200lbs,” wrote another. “They moved me to business class so I wasn’t mad.”
“Had a flight one time with 32 people (including me). We broke into groups of 10 to balance the plane,” shared a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Cally via TikTok direct message and comment.
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