125 AI cabin crew members to lose job over weight issues

THE HINDU,14SEP2015

Air India is likely to ground nearly 125 cabin crew personnel, including airhostesses, for not maintaining the weight standards prescribed by the Director-General of Civil Aviation.

Some of them may be assigned ground duty, while others can be offered voluntary retirement, airline sources said.

The national carrier had given an opportunity to around 600 “overweight” cabin crew members last year to “shape up” within a stipulated time frame following the DGCA guidelines.

“Of these 600 cabin staff, nearly 125, including airhostesses, failed to maintain the required body mass index (BMI) or weight standards. Now we have no option but to take them off permanently from flying duty,” sources said.

Air India has 3,500 cabin crew, of whom 2,200 are permanent staff and the rest are on contract.

By the DGCA norms, a BMI of 18-25 is normal for a male cabin crew member, while for a female, it is 18-22. A BMI of 25-29.9 for male crew is considered overweight and 30 and above is obese, while for females, 22-27 is overweight and 27 and above obese.