Japan Airlines has been forced to add an additional aircraft to its scheduled service to accomodate the number of large sumo wrestlers onboard whose weight posed a safety risk.
The airline had schedued just one Boeing 737-800 to take the athletes from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Amamo Oshmi, an island in Japan’s south.
The average weight of a passenger is calculated at 70kg, but these wrestlers can weigh more than 120kg. Japan Airlines’ aircraft wouldn’t have been able to carry enough fuel for the route with the additional passenger weight onboard.
“It is extremely unusual for us to operate special flights due to the weight restrictions on this aircraft,” a JAL spokesperson told local media.
