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United, Delta scales at TIA fail state inspections

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Every United Airlines and Delta Airlines baggage scale at Tucson International Airport failed its state inspection and was shut down Tuesday.

The 14 ticket counter baggage scales — eight at Delta and six at United — failed for a variety of reasons, according to a state spokesman. Some read higher than they should have, at least one underweighed, and others failed for a lack of a security seal or because they were improperly set up — placed on foam or wood surfaces, said Steve Meissner of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures.

Meissner said state regulations require scales of that weight class be accurate to within one-half pound.

He said TIA scales were last checked in 2004, considerably less frequently than the once-a-year inspection schedule the agency tries to maintain at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport. But he said the agency has only four inspectors in Southern Arizona, three in Tucson and one in Sierra Vista.

He said there are just more than 30 inspectors statewide and that they are responsible for nearly 2,100 gas stations and 60,000 devices, including gas pumps, grocery store scales, truck scales and more.

The scales will remain out of service until a certified technician can service them and certify to the state agency that they are in compliance, Meissner said.

United and Delta employees at TIA declined to comment, referring questions to corporate headquarters.

Airport spokeswoman Paula Winn said she did not know the airlines' plans for today, but she expected they would make changes such as suspending the weighing of baggage or using other airlines' scales that would allow passengers to proceed apace.

United seems to be choosing the former option.

"Customers won't be charged for overweight bags until we recertify the scales," said Jeff Kovick, a spokesman at United Airlines' corporate headquarters in Chicago.

Kovick said information about overweight surcharge revenue and complaints about those charges was not readily available. He said he did not know how requests, if any, for refunds stemming from the failed inspections might be handled.

"Over the summer our scales were certified (by private technicians) and then checked again more recently. We'll fully investigate why they didn't pass inspection," Kovick said.

A spokesman for Delta Air Lines said scales at the airline's TIA ticket counter were taken out of service after inspectors found them to be off by about a pound.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the Atlanta-based airline has contacted a service company to check and recalibrate the scales.

The accuracy of airline scales has taken on new importance as many airlines have begun charging for extra and overweight baggage.

Delta charges extra for bags weighing over 50 pounds. For each bag weighing 51 to 70 pounds, passengers are charged $90 per bag; for bags weighing 71 to 100 pounds, the charge is $175, Black said. Bags weighing more than 100 pounds are not allowed.

Black said that while technically, a scale registering slightly heavy could result in an extra charge for an overweight bag, ticket agents routinely tell passengers when a bag is just over the limit and give them the chance to remove items.

United charges $125 per bag for bags weighing more than 50 pounds, though the limit is 70 pounds for active-duty military members and some high-level frequent-flier program members.

Fines for violations start at $300 per scale, but can run higher, depending on a department official's recommendation, Meissner said. He said the civil fines go to the state's general fund.

Meissner said he couldn't say when inspectors would be back to check the other TIA airlines' scales.

"We will be back," he said.