TOKYO- According to local reports, Japan Airlines (JL) found itself in a situation where it needed to schedule extra flights for a group of sumo wrestlers traveling to a tournament. The reason for this was to distribute the additional weight across multiple aircraft.
The Japan News disclosed that originally, 27 passengers, including the group of sumo wrestlers, were supposed to be accommodated on two flights departing from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and the Itami Airport in Osaka to Amami Oshima, an island located in the southernmost part of Japan. However, Japan Airlines made the decision to add an extra flight to the schedule specifically to handle the weight of the sumo wrestlers.
Japan Airlines Sumo Wrestler Concerns
Each of the Boeing 737 aircraft was designed to carry up to 165 passengers. Concerns arose among airline officials that the two originally scheduled flights might not be able to transport the necessary amount of fuel due to weight limitations.
As a solution, the airline introduced an additional flight departing from Haneda.
It’s worth noting that each sumo wrestler had an estimated weight of around 265 pounds, which is more than 100 pounds heavier than the average Japanese passenger, as reported by The Japan Times.
According to a spokesperson for the airline, the need to operate special flights due to weight restrictions on the aircraft is an exceptionally rare occurrence. This information was provided to the Minami-Nippon Shimbun newspaper and later translated by The Guardian.
The island of Amami Oshima served as the location for a sumo competition as part of the Special National Sports Festival. The event drew in approximately 460 sumo wrestlers, as reported by The Japan Times.
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