15 passengers removed from 'heavy' plane as heatwave affects flights

The British heatwave might mean we can finally make the most of our beaches but, it seems, its causing havoc at one London airport.

On Sunday, 15 passengers were removed from a Swiss flight from London City Airport to Geneva as the plane was too heavy to take off.

In hot weather, it takes longer for a plane to take off, and the short length of London City's runway is sometimes a problem.

At 4,900ft long, it is less than half the length of Gatwick's runway (10,879ft) and Heathrow's (12,008ft and 12,799ft), reports the Daily Telegraph.

According to the Daily Mail, warm air is less dense than cold air, giving less 'lift". The paper reports: "As temperature and humidity rises, the air becomes less dense, and therefore the air creates less lift for the airplane.

"As a result, on a hot day, an airplane will require more runway to take off, will have a poor rate of climb and a faster approach and will experience a longer landing roll."

A spokeswoman for Swiss told the Daily Telegraph: "Due to weather conditions, the take-off weight of the aircraft had to be reduced due to safety reasons.

"In very high temperatures it usually takes longer until the aircraft can actually take-off, and since London City Airport has a short airstrip the take-off weight needed to be reduced. Geneva Airport was facing heavy thunderstorms at the same time which also had an impact on the take-off weight."

Passengers who denied boarding or removed from flights in these instances should be offered a full refund or an alternative flight.

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