Hundreds of North Sea workers face losing their jobs when a 19st 7lb helicopter weight limit comes in on Sunday

Offshore Energies UK's 124kg weight limit takes effect on Sunday, with between 241 and 300 workers still expected to exceed it — preventing them from flying out to platforms and leaving their jobs at risk. OEUK's health and safety leader Graham Skinner warned that anyone unwilling or unable to comply faces "a route out of employment." The limit marks the maximum weight at which a person can be safely extracted from a platform into a rescue helicopter during an emergency evacuation.

Since the start of 2025, the number of workers over the limit has fallen sharply — from around 2,200 to 840 earlier this year.

Some still above the threshold have turned to weight-loss injections to meet the deadline; others may be redeployed to onshore positions.

Skinner said: 'If somebody cannot mobilise for their work because they're over the weight limit, then they will not be able to work.'