Air New Zealand to ask to weigh passengers pre-flight

New Zealand's national airline will be asking passengers if they would be open to being weighed with their hand luggage before they board the plane over the coming weeks.

Air New Zealand customers will be asked to step on a set of scales for the airline to log their weight before they board.

It's part of a survey the airline carries out every five years.

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Air New Zealand load control specialist Alastair James told local current affairs program Seven Sharp that the data was used to calculate the average weight of a load of passengers.

"We need to know the weights of everything that go on board our aircraft," he said.

At least 10,000 people need to take part over the next five weeks for the survey to be effective.

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James said the process was simple - the passenger stood on one scale, their carry-on luggage on another.

The weights are privately recorded and not displayed.

And if you'd still rather not take part, don't worry - the process is voluntary.

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