One in five Gatwick weighing scales faulty
02.04.08
Nearly one in five of all baggage weighing scales at Gatwick Airport gave an inaccurate reading in a spot check test, the Telegraph reports. An investigation by Trading Standards showed that 62 of the 321 scales used at the north and south terminals worked against the passenger, showing that bags weighed more than they did. At one airline in particular, 10 out of the 18 scales gave a wrong reading.
Bruce Treloar, from Trading Standards, said the problem was a combination of human error - with the scales not set at zero - and faulty machines. He said: ‘It was an incredibly high number of machines which were giving the wrong reading. We are talking about 20 percent of the scales working against the consumer and it was not a particularly busy day.'
‘It was a mix of human error and problems with the machines as they are used so much - a lot of traffic goes across these scales. There is no legal requirement for them to be checked, so there is no way of knowing if they are becoming increasingly inaccurate.’
Mr Treloar said the problem was likely to be much more widespread and affect airports across the country. He said: ‘Our view is that more and more people are travelling, and there is no way of knowing if these scales are correct. The amount people are allowed to carry with them is going down and it seems as though airlines are finding ways of charging extra.'
'I am not saying they are doing it deliberately, but it masks the fact that in some cases staff can't be bother to check the scales and the consumer may be charged extra. How often do they check the scales are accurate?'
Ryanair charges £7.50 per kg if a bag is overweight, Flybe charges £6 per kg, easyJet charges £6 per kg, while Monarch charges £5 per kg. Mr Treloar said the investigation into the baggage weigh-in was prompted by an increasing number of complaints.
Although the airline with 10 out of 18 inaccurate scales was not disclosed, Trading Standards warned that airliners and airport would be ‘named and shamed’ if conditions did not improve.
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