Air India set to ground ‘overweight’ flight attendants
Air India is to move ahead with plans to ground 130 mostly female flight attendants deemed as ‘overweight’ in a move strongly condemned by aviation experts and the All India Cabin Crew Association.
The state-owned airline had last year asked 600 flight attendants to lose weight within six months after a ruling from India’s airline regulator the directorate-general of civil aviation.
They were classed as ‘temporarily unfit’ for flight duties and asked to lose weight while being monitored by airline medical staff.
"About 130 of them failed the reassessment. We are now declaring them permanently unfit for their job as flight attendants," an Air India spokesman said.
They will be given ground assignments at airports, it added.
All flight attendants were assessed based on body mass index which calculates ideal weight for a person’s height, following the directive from the aviation regulator.
"This move to impose a certain BMI, ignoring experience and other performance parameters, is immature, misogynistic and shockingly sexist," said Mark Martin, an aviation industry consultant.
"We seem to have lost the plot on what is needed from flight attendants."
The move was also slammed by the All India Cabin Crew Association.
"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 association said.
Diane
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments