Aircraft too heavy on Virgin Blue flight to Cairns, passengers asked to disembark!

I've always been amazed at how a plane manages to get into the air with all the weight it carries, but it's come to something else when passengers are asked to get off because the plane is too heavy!!

This is what happened on a Virgin Blue flight flying from Melbourne to Cairns as crew asked for any volunteers that would be willing to disembark because the 737 wouldn't have enough fuel for the flight.

Up stepped three gallant men who offered to get off the aircraft. The flight was able to get underway once their luggage was removed.

A Virgin Blue spokeswoman said that flights had been diverted around Australia due to bad weather in Melburne. She later said that the 737 being used for the Cairns route had a lower weight capacity than the aircraft originally scheduled.

The three passengers who left the plane were compensated with travel vouchers.