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http://www.theweek.co.uk/65198/air-india-cabin-crew-told-they-are-too-fat-to-fly
India – Air India Will Ground Flight Attendants Considered 'Too Fat to Fly'
The national air carrier of India, Air India, is grounding
around 130 flight attendants after measuring their BMI body fat levels.
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Air India flight attendants, not
those pictured above, must have a "normal" BMI - Photo:
Getty
By Hugh Morris
– 14 September 2015
Air India
last year warned 600 of its 3,500 cabin crew to lose weight within six months
or risk being taken off flights and given a job on the ground. The airline now
plans to remove about 130 from cabin crew duty because their body mass index
(BMI) levels remain above the prescribed limit.
A BMI is
a measure of body fat based on a person’s height and weight.
The
airline said that the “normal” BMI for an air hostess is between 18 and 22,
“overweight” between 22 and 27, and “obese” for a value above 27. For male
attendants the brackets were 18 to 25, 25 to 30, and above. The NHS says a
“healthy” BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.
After the
state-run airline’s staff were tested last year, the 600 found to be
“overweight” or “obese” were declared “temporarily unfit” for flight duties and
asked to undergo clinical examinations and lose weight by changing their diet
and lifestyle and exercising more, while being monitored by staff.
“About
130 of them failed the reassessment,” an Air India official told The Telegraph in Calcutta. “We are now declaring them
permanently unfit for their job as flight attendants.”
“People
who are fitter can respond quicker and more efficiently in case of any untoward
situation.”
This is
not the first time Air India has removed staff from the air for being
overweight. In 2009, the airline grounded 10 flight attendants who failed to slim down.
In 2013,
Air India said that deploying female flight attendants rather than male could save them about £329,000 per year in full costs
because they weighed on average 33 to 44 pounds lighter.
A member
of the All India Cabin Crew Association said the grounding of 130 staff was
“ridiculous”, according to The Telegraph.
“Any
industry insider would vouch that Air India flight attendants are the best,
mainly because of their long experience. So, this guideline and the
management's decision to follow it to the letter is unacceptable.”
The airline has had a difficult year, with a special recruitment day in March welcoming zero attendees. It has also suffered from financial difficulties in recent years, with a government bailout necessary in 2012 to keep the carrier afloat.