Japan’s flag carrier had to make last minute changes to deal with excess weight — not from baggage, but from a group of passengers who just so happened to be sumo wrestlers.

Japan Airlines (JAL) realized that two of its planes were at risk of exceeding their weight limits carrying the wrestlers who were on their way to Amami Oshima, an island in the south, for a sports festival.

Two groups of the 27 total athletes were supposed to take off on separate flights Oct. 12 — one from Haneda Airport (HND) in Tokyo and another from Itami Airport (ITM) in Osaka, with the latter being a much smaller, primarily domestic airport.

The sumo wrestlers weighed an average of 120 kilograms each — far more than the 70 kilogram average passenger — an airline spokesperson said, raising concerns over fuel capacity on the smaller aircraft that services flights within Japan.

Since it would be difficult for larger planes to take off and land at the regional airport in Amami (ASJ), the flagship carrier decided to transfer 14 of the wrestlers and have them depart from Haneda airport, closer to the Tokyo metropolis. But it was still a tight squeeze on the way back from the sumo festival.

Three high school sumo wrestlers, weighing 140, 130 and 110 kilograms respectively, said that they all sat next to each other on the flight back to Haneda from Fukuoka on Oct. 15.

“I think the middle seat was the toughest,” said one of the students, who were all from the mountainous Gunma prefecture. “I was joking about the possible weight concerns, but it actually turned into a problem. We had great support, although we are a little tired,” a representative for the Gunma wrestlers said in a TV Asahi report.

There are no weight restrictions or classes in sumo wrestling, but the ancient Japanese sport has been dominated by bulkier athletes. Aspiring young wrestlers, some of whom begin the sport at the age of 5, train in designated sumo stables, or beya, where they sleep, eat and practice together on a near daily basis.

Travelers in Japan are not often asked to step on a scale before a flight, but many governmental airline regulators mandate the practice in order to gather data.

Earlier this year, Korean Air weighed passengers and their baggage as part of regular safety checks. Air New Zealand also carried out a similar program with some of the customers flying its international routes, like the ultra-long-haul between Auckland and New York.

(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【相扑选手】xiàngpū xuǎnshǒu sumo wrestler a traditional Japanese competitive full-contact wrestler

【旗舰】qíjiàn flagship the finest, largest, or most important one of a group of things

日本的旗舰航空公司不得不在最后一刻做出临时安排来应对超重问

题 —— 不是行李超重，而是一群乘客超重，因为他们是相扑选手。

日本航空意识到，公司有两架飞机搭载一群摔跤运动员前往南部的奄美大岛参加体育节，总体负载可能会超出重量限制。

总共 27名运动员中的两组本应于10月12日分别搭乘不同的航班起飞 —— 一组从东京羽田机场起飞，另一组从大阪伊丹机场起飞，后者是一个小得多的机场，主要起降国内航班。

航空公司发言人说，这些相扑选手平均每人重达 120 公斤，体重远远超过平均 70公斤的普通乘客，让人不由担心飞机燃料是否够用，日本国内航班通常采用小型飞机，燃油容量不大。

由于大型飞机难以在奄美地区机场起降，日航决定将14名摔跤手转移到离东京都更近的羽田机场起飞。

从相扑节返回的途中，运动员们依然“挤挤一堂”。

在10月15日从福冈飞回羽田机场的航班上，三名高中相扑运动员（体重分别为 140、130 和 110 公斤）说，他们的座位挨在一起。

其中一名学生说：“我觉得中间的座位最难坐。”他们都来自群马县山区。

群马县摔跤运动员的代表在朝日电视台的报道中说：“之前我还开玩笑说可能会超重，没想到被我说中了。虽然我们有点累，但感谢大家的支持。”

相扑没有体重限制，也没有等级之分，这项运动在日本有悠久的传统，一直由体型较胖的运动员主导。

一些有抱负的年轻摔跤手 5岁就开始训练，他们在指定的相扑马厩（或称“厩”）中训练，几乎每天都在一起睡觉、吃饭和练习。

在日本，旅客通常不会被要求在航班起飞前称体重，但许多航空公司的政府监管机构会强制要求旅客这样做，以便收集数据。

今年早些时候，作为定期安全检查的一部分，大韩航空对乘客及其行李进行称重。新西兰航空公司也对一些乘坐其国际航线（如奥克兰和纽约之间的超远程航线）的乘客提出了类似的要求。

(Translated by Debra)