Planes take off half empty due to wind?
 

This is a new one for me. My parents and relatives were on a flight from Burbank Airport to JFK but only half the passengers were allowed to get on the plane because of a combination of wind and a short runway. They also only loaded the plane with half the fuel and had to stop in Phoenix to refuel before proceeding to JFK.

Does this happen often at Burbank? It's actually the first time I've heard of it from all these years of flying. Although I usually fly out of LAX. Maybe that's why.

Oops. I meant to post this in the travel and safety section but it got into this section

What did they do with the folks who couldn't get on the plane?

You'll see another thread here in the JetBlue forum discussing this that was bumped in the past day or two

BUR-JFK is at the operational limits of the airport in light of BUR's short runways which limit takeoff weight and thus fuel.

When the prevailing winds are not as great as they usually are, something has to give. In this case, it must have been a lot in order to require off-loading 50% of an aircraft AND adding a fuel diversion.

It's also possible that there were known weather issues aloft which would require a less direct route and that added to the mess.

Perhaps out of LAX one or the other would not have been necessary, but perhaps not.

This is why the AA non-stop to LAX won't push from the gate or holds and shuts down its engines until it has a clear path to departure, so that it can top off rather than burning fuel on a taxiway. Short runways at DCA mean that the operational limits are stretched.

The alternative is to abandon the route or build longer runways. Given that it's infrequent, I'll vote for the rare inconvenience.

I ran into this situation once in Burbank on some type of regional jet on a much shorter flight (PDX). It was a combination of wind direction, runway length, and required climb performance to fly the DP (departure procedure).

A strong headwind is going to improve aircraft performance and decrease the amount of runway required.

Does IDB compensation apply in this case for passengers who had confirmed reservations and who showed up at the gate on time?

No. Regulations allow for circumstances like this. Happens at Denver as well, since they're hot and high.

Whoa, heavens to betsy! :p:p:p

That's flat wrong. The exemption for weight and balance only applies to aircraft with 60 seats or less

14 CFR 250.6

You're right, I forgot about that detail.