*The US Federal Aviation Administration has recommended the weigh-ins should be done at airports that represent a minimum of 15 percent of an airline鈥檚 daily departures once every three years

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Though it may sound somewhat weird to some, but it鈥檚 already being done in other countries, the United States airlines may begin weighing air passengers as a way to comply with the country鈥檚 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules.

According to a report from 鈥榁iewFromTheWing鈥�, as Americans have gained weight, the FAA never adjusted its weight and balance calculations for aircraft, especially smaller planes when flying.

While 鈥淐an you step on the scale, please?鈥� isn鈥檛 likely to become a standard procedure at the airport, travelers will likely encounter it at some point in their flying life, report said.

The US aviation regulatory agency affirmed the weigh-ins should be done at airports that represent a minimum of 15 percent of an airline鈥檚 daily departures, and it should be done once every three years, so that officials have a better chance of calculating weight assumptions in the aviation industry.

The FAA recommends that the screenings be done randomly and take place outside of the regular TSA screening place and in a secure area of the airport where travellers catching a connecting flight can be included.

However, in order to avoid embarrassment, the agency will make sure that the readout of a person鈥檚 weight will remain hidden from public view.

To avoid any potential problems on the FAA鈥檚 proposal, it was learnt the agency is making the procedure completely voluntary.

Put differently, air travellers who don鈥檛 want to step on a scale don鈥檛 need to.

However, airlines have the option of weighing everyone or asking a passenger how much they weigh in the process.

Of course, asking someone their weight doesn鈥檛 always produce an accurate answer. Thus, in situations like that, the FAA has advised airlines to add 10 pounds to account for clothing, especially in winter.

It noted that if the personnel doing the screening thinks a consumer understated their weight, the screen 鈥渟hould make a reasonable estimate of the passenger鈥檚 actual weight and add 10 pounds.鈥�

Still, another potential issue that might come out of this is that airlines might have to remove some seats in order to meet government weight rules if the average passenger weight goes up significantly.

Incidentally, that might make it harder for consumers to get a seat on a flight, and it would cut into airlines鈥� revenue stream.

Meanwhile, some airlines in other parts of the world already have weight checks in place.

In Samoa, for instance, where a study showed that 22 percent of Soman women were overweight and 58 percent were obese, Somoa Airlines tried its hand at fares based on weight, agency report said.

Similar to what the FAA is proposing, New Zealand鈥檚 Civil Aviation Authority recently mandated that airlines conduct weight surveys at least once every five years.