From Aviation HQ@2:292/854 to All on Sat Oct 21 15:14:01 2023
Japan Airlines had to deploy an extra aircraft due to overweight passengers. On Thursday, a group of sumo wrestlers wanted to fly to a tournament on the island of Amami Oshima, but their weight would exceed the maximum take-off weight of the two Boeing 737s.
A group of sumo wrestlers had reserved seats on two flights from Haneda Airport and Itami Airport to Amami Oshima Island. After calculating that each wrestler weighed approximately 250 pounds, concerns arose at JAL that both flights would not be able to carry the required amount of fuel due to weight restrictions. Both flights were operated with a Boeing 737-800.
To ensure that all wrestlers could still go to their tournament, JAL scheduled an extra flight. A group of 27 sumo wrestlers have been asked to take this extra flight. According to JAL, it is "rare" that an extra flight is added due to weight restrictions.