By

Alison Fox

European airline Finnair will become the latest carrier to ask passengers to weigh in before boarding this month in an effort to collect data on aircraft balance calculations.

The airline will ask passengers to step on the scale with their carry-on baggage throughout February, April, and May, according to the carrier.

The weights will be collected on a volunteer basis from Helsinki Airport on select European flights within the Schengen area as well as on several long-haul flights departing from the non-Schengen side.

The airline previously conducted a similar effort in 2017 and 2018.

“We use the weighing data for the average calculations required for the safe operation of flights, and the collected data is not linked in any way to the customer’s personal data,” Satu Munnukka, the head of ground processes at Finnair, said in a statement, adding, “In the previous measurements five years ago, a good number of volunteers wanted to participate in the weighing, and we hope to have a good sample of volunteers, both business and leisure travellers, also this time, so that we can get the most accurate information possible for important balance calculations.”

Travelers who volunteer to be weighed will remain anonymous  their weight will not be linked to their name or booking number  and only the customer service agent will be able to see the total weight. While their names won’t be used, volunteers will have to provide their age, gender, and travel class.

“No information is collected that would allow participants to be identified,” Munnukka added.

Once the study is complete, the data will be sent to The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, according to the airline.

Finnair is just the latest airline to ask passengers to step on the scale. Last year, both Air New Zealand and Korean Air similarly asked travelers to weigh themselves as part of safety surveys.