I am quite disturbed to read some of the comments on this thread.
We all know that the press sensationalise things. Im nowhere near as much of an expert as the majority of people on this forum, however I have flown a lot of times.
Whether you are a captain, flight attendant, or SLF does not give you the right to determine whether
1. Someone is worthy of flying on a plane
2. To determine that they should go to Blackpool for their holidays instead
3. To expect general public to understand what happens regarding the loading and balance of aircraft
4. To presume you know what happened at the airport when this flight was due to depart
Having been on the other side of this in the past with both BA and BMI when something has gone wrong, I know from experience that explaining to customers is not always an airlines strongest point. This was a Thomas Cook flight operated by Mint - Mint being an airline most passengers would not have even heard of. If a captain said the plane was safe to fly, then Im sure it was - no matter how uncomfortable the outbound flight was.
I discussed this with my partner last night who is frightened of flying, I explained how it worked and he said he would not have got on the plane even though I would have.
I am sure many of you have phobias which you may struggle to control or know little about so I suggest before you get on your milkboxes put yourself in the shoes of the general public who do not understand or have the knowledge we do and try to think how they would.