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 相關詞匯 【相撲選手】xiàngpū xuǎnshǒu sumo wrestler a traditional Japanese competitive full-contact wrestler 【旗艦】qíjiàn flagship the finest, largest, or most important one of a group of things 日本的旗艦航空公司不得不在最后一刻做出臨時安排來應對超重問 題 —— 不是行李超重，而是一群乘客超重，因為他們是相撲選手。 日本航空意識到，公司有兩架飛機搭載一群摔跤運動員前往南部的奄美大島參加體育節，總體負載可能會超出重量限制。 總共 27名運動員中的兩組本應于10月12日分別搭乘不同的航班起飛 —— 一組從東京羽田機場起飛，另一組從大阪伊丹機場起飛，后者是一個小得多的機場，主要起降國內航班。 航空公司發言人說，這些相撲選手平均每人重達 120 公斤，體重遠遠超過平均 70公斤的普通乘客，讓人不由擔心飛機燃料是否夠用，日本國內航班通常采用小型飛機，燃油容量不大。 由于大型飛機難以在奄美地區機場起降，日航決定將14名摔跤手轉移到離東京都更近的羽田機場起飛。 從相撲節返回的途中，運動員們依然“擠擠一堂”。 在10月15日從福岡飛回羽田機場的航班上，三名高中相撲運動員（體重分別為 140、130 和 110 公斤）說，他們的座位挨在一起。 其中一名學生說：“我覺得中間的座位最難坐。”他們都來自群馬縣山區。 群馬縣摔跤運動員的代表在朝日電視臺的報道中說：“之前我還開玩笑說可能會超重，沒想到被我說中了。雖然我們有點累，但感謝大家的支持。” 相撲沒有體重限制，也沒有等級之分，這項運動在日本有悠久的傳統，一直由體型較胖的運動員主導。 一些有抱負的年輕摔跤手 5歲就開始訓練，他們在指定的相撲馬廄（或稱“廄”）中訓練，幾乎每天都在一起睡覺、吃飯和練習。 在日本，旅客通常不會被要求在航班起飛前稱體重，但許多航空公司的政府監管機構會強制要求旅客這樣做，以便收集數據。 今年早些時候，作為定期安全檢查的一部分，大韓航空對乘客及其行李進行稱重。新西蘭航空公司也對一些乘坐其國際航線（如奧克蘭和紐約之間的超遠程航線）的乘客提出了類似的要求。 (Translated by Debra) | 