Flight attendants grounded for being too fat
Earlier this year, Air India had warned 600 of its 3500-strong flight attendant staff to lose weight or risk being grounded.
Told they were ‘temporarily unfit’ for their duties of serving drinks and closing overhead baggage containers, Air India has taken the threat one step further.
The Indian carrier has now, according to news.com.au, permanently grounded 130 of the group who failed to drop the kilos needed to get their Body Mass Index under 22.
Now, the rest of the world considers 22 a healthy BMI level, according to the Department of Health who says anything up to 24.99 is a normal weight range.
But per news reports, being “overweight” is slightly more radical for Air India, with airline considering a range of 18-22 “normal”, 22-27 “overweight” and over 27 “obese” for their female flight attendants.
It’s a different kettle of fish for men, interestingly enough, with a range between 18 and 25 deemed acceptable, and 25-30 considered overweight.
News.com.au reported that despite concerns about the accuracy of using BMI as a measure of health (because we all know that’s not the only measure of a healthy body), the “overweight” group had to undergo clinical examinations, change their diet and exercise more — while being monitored by staff.
“About 130 of them failed the reassessment,” an Air India official told the UK’s Telegraph.
“We are now declaring them permanently unfit for their job as flight attendants.”
But wait for it, it gets more ridiculous once you hear their reasoning.
“People who are fitter can respond quicker and more efficiently in case of any untoward situation.”
Well, how about that!
Air India also grounded 10 crew for the same reason back in 2009, per news reports. It also argued in 2013 that employing only female flight attendants could save it hundreds of thousands of dollars, as they weigh less, but that’s another story we don’t have time to get started on.
Image: imgur
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