Arizona agency warns airport scales not always accurate

December 21, 2012

Holiday travel is picking up, and one state agency is warning airline passengers to watch out when they weigh their bags. From Phoenix, KJZZ’s Mark Brodie reports.

MARK BRODIE: Inspectors from the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures checked out scales in 22 terminals at Sky Harbor, Mesa Gateway and Tucson International airports earlier this month. They found several problems with airlines not posting fees for overweight bags and a few instances of scales saying bags were heavier than they actually were. The agency’s Shawn Marquez says inspectors also found scales that didn’t always reset between bags.

SHAWN MARQUEZ: If you’re a passenger, and the person who went in front of you put some bags on there and it’s not on zero, it’s kind of like going to the grocery store, and you’re gonna buy ten pounds of shrimp, but it’s already showing a pound on there – something’s wrong.

BRODIE: Marquez says the overall compliance rate was lower than in previous years. He says inspectors recommended almost $5,000 in civil penalties based on the various violations.