Airlines have long penalized passengers who carry luggage that’s a little too heavy – now, it seems at least one carrier is applying that same logic to its employees.
Approximately 130 Air India flight attendants have been declared “permanently unfit for their jobs” after the company carried out body mass index (BMI) evaluations and “medical check-ups.”
The state-owned airline insists the decision was based on safety concerns but critics have slammed the move as “ridiculous” and “shockingly sexist.”
Air India tested 3,500 employees and determined that 600 were overweight or obese – they were then put on a diet and exercise plan before being reassessed.
“About 130 of them failed the reassessment,” an Air India official told the Telegraph. “We are now declaring them permanently unfit for their job as flight attendants.”
Understandably, the controversial decision has its fair share of critics.
“This move to impose a certain BMI, ignoring experience and other performance parameters, is immature, misogynistic and shockingly sexist,” aviation industry consultant Mark Martin told the newspaper. “We seem to have lost the plot on what is needed from flight attendants.”
17/09/15 Nicola Middlemiss/HC Online
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
Approximately 130 Air India flight attendants have been declared “permanently unfit for their jobs” after the company carried out body mass index (BMI) evaluations and “medical check-ups.”
The state-owned airline insists the decision was based on safety concerns but critics have slammed the move as “ridiculous” and “shockingly sexist.”
Air India tested 3,500 employees and determined that 600 were overweight or obese – they were then put on a diet and exercise plan before being reassessed.
“About 130 of them failed the reassessment,” an Air India official told the Telegraph. “We are now declaring them permanently unfit for their job as flight attendants.”
Understandably, the controversial decision has its fair share of critics.
“This move to impose a certain BMI, ignoring experience and other performance parameters, is immature, misogynistic and shockingly sexist,” aviation industry consultant Mark Martin told the newspaper. “We seem to have lost the plot on what is needed from flight attendants.”
17/09/15 Nicola Middlemiss/HC Online
