Mass protest over ‘unsafe’ plane
24.06.09
71 holidaymakers returning to Newcastle Airport refused to board their holiday flight after they were asked to act as 'human ballast', the Chronicle reports.
A jammed hold door meant luggage could only be loaded into the front of the Thomas Cook plane at Mallorca airport, so passengers were asked to move from their allocated seats to the back of the plane to distribute the weight. Passengers demanded assurances that the jammed hold door would not suddenly become unstuck and open mid-flight. Despite receiving these from the captain and crew, 71 left the plane, fearing for their safety.
Passengers waiting to board told the newspaper that in-coming holidaymakers, disembarking the same plane, warned them not to get on it as it was the worst flight many of them had ever experienced. Thomas Cook said asking the passengers to move was standard procedure for airlines to ensure cargo and passengers were evenly distributed, and there was no safety risk. Those who refused to fly on Saturday had to arrange alternative transport for themselves, paying hundreds of pounds for flights with other airlines.
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