Uzbekistan's national carrier plans to weigh passengers with their hand luggage before boarding as part of a new ‘flight safety’ measure

Uzbekistan Airways passengers will be directed to a “special weighing machine” at the departure gate, to determine each person's average weight with their hand baggage.

Uzbekistan Airways is not the first airline to keep an eye on passengers' weights. In 2013, Samoa Air became the world’s first airline to charge passengers by their weight rather than per seat, in a bid to raise obesity awareness and improve public health. The Pacific island nations served by the carrier have some of the world's highest rates of obesity.

The Pacific national airline allows passengers to nominate their weight and then measures them on scales at the airport. Passengers do not pay for a seat but pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies according to the length of the route. At the time, the head of Samoa Air, Chris Langton, said the system was fairer and that some families with small children were now paying substantially cheaper fares.

In the same year, the airline also introduced a special "XL class" to cater for larger passengers, creating a a wider row on its aircraft for passengers weighing more than 286 pounds (130 kilograms).

Uzbekistan Airways to weigh passengers before boarding - Telegraph