Fat Tax Not To Be Introduced Because Of Logistics Say Ryanair

Obese people have enough discrimination to contend with...

Europe’s largest low cost airline Ryanair has completely ruled out introducing what they called “a fat-tax" for overweight and obese passengers despite running a survey which showed that almost half of the people who fly on the airline supported it. The survey results show that these people believe that anyone weighing over twenty stone should be weighed and then charged a fee per kilogram.

Almost 40 percent of the people who took part in the survey also said that those people who could not fit in one seat should be charged for the extra seat that they used. Ryanair however argued that collecting the fat tax would be extremely difficult and would slow down the efficient operation of the airline to the detriment of all passengers.

What this survey does show is the negative perception that many people have of overweight and obese individuals and the belief that their weight problems are not purely medical but of their own choosing.

Ukmedix News has reported on other airlines that do charge extra for overweight passengers such as the American airlines Southwest and United and if the current problem continues to grow in America it is likely that more airlines over there will follow suit.  No European airlines have introduced a fat tax yet but it is possible that in the near future they could. Obese people have enough discrimination to contend with without having to pay extra to travel however those people who have had to endure a long flight next to a very overweight individual often change their opinion of whether overweight people should be allowed to sit in one regular airline seat.

Overweight people already have to pay extra ‘taxes’ in the form of higher health insurance and increased medical bills and tend to have higher food bills of the end of the month too. They are also known to be paid less than their normal weight colleagues meaning that any initiatives by airlines to charge them more would only be an ‘extra fat tax’ on top of what they are already paying.