PASSENGERS were booted off a British Airways flight after extreme heat made the plane too heavy to take off.
Twenty had to get off the London City airport-bound jet to compensate for the extra fuel pumped aboard.
Getty20 passengers on a London City-bound BA flight were booted off because the plane was too heavy to take off (stock photo)[/caption]
The BA Embraer ERJ-190 needed the juice because it had to work harder to reach cruising altitude as the 35C conditions in Italy had made the air less dense.
The short 5,118ft runway at Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci airport — half the length of Gatwick’s 10,879ft main track — compounded the problem.
A Brit mum on the half-empty August 11 flight said: “The pilot said people had to get off because of the extreme heat.
“It was around 35 degrees and they needed extra fuel for the engine to run effectively.
“The staff said 36 would have to be unloaded but only about 20 people had to get off in the end.”
BA apologised to affected passengers on the flight.
A spokesman said: “Due to the unique nature of the airfield with its short runway, extreme temperatures affect air pressure, so aircraft weight must be reduced.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience. Our teams worked hard to get passengers to their destination as quickly as possible.”
University of Reading aviation expert Dr Jonny Williams said: “Hot summer days when smaller airports have to reduce their weight will get more common.
“Conditions which used to happen about one day in a summer may happen three or four days a week by the 2060s.
“Flying to Spain, Italy or Greece could get more expensive as flights carry fewer people due to climate change.”