Sumo Wrestlers' Flight Grounded Over Takedown Fears

Japan Airlines was forced to arrange separate flights to split up a group of sumo wrestlers over concerns that their puddle jumper plane would be overloaded. The group was en route to a competition on the small southern Japanese island of Amami Oshima, leaving from Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Itami Airport in Osaka, taking a pair of Boeing 737-800s on the same day. The airline determined that the small island airport couldn’t handle a larger plane, so it booked a second plane for the wrestlers.

Fourteen of the passengers were shuttled from Osaka to Toky0, and a total of 27 passengers made the JAL flight in time for the competition. The 737-800 is a stretched version of the 737-700, and can hold as many as 189 passengers per flight. A spokesperson for the airline said it is “extremely rare for us to operate special flights.” A second special flight was added for the return flight from the competition.

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