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HONOLULU, HI — The U.S. Transportation Department rules Hawaiian Airlines can weigh larger passengers before they board planes.
The ruling comes after several complaints were filed accusing the airline of discriminating against people of Samoan descent.
Hawaiian Airlines instituted the policy earlier this month after noticing flights from Honolulu to American Samoa were burning more fuel due to their heavy payload.
Samoans have the highest rate of obesity in the world, according to the CIA’s World Factbook.
The airline said it weighs passengers so they can assign seats based on weight distribution to prevent the threat of a crash landing.
