Air India facing a weighty problem in Chennai - 295 crew members are overweight

Air India in Chennai base is stuck with a weighty problem because, over the last 5 years, 295 of its crew members are overweight and have been asked to lose weight. The ability to flash a prefect smile is not the only criterion to be a cabin crew member, weight also in important.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 March 2016.

This information has emerged following an RTI application filed by OnlineRTI.com - out of the 295, four had to be removed permanently from flying duty after they failed to maintain the required Body Mass Index (BMI) or weight standards prescribed by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
BMI or Body Mass Index indicates `weight in proportion to height' and reveals whether a person is underweight, overweight and obese, or weighs appropriately for his or her height. As per guidelines of DGCA, the BMI of 18-25 is normal for a male cabin crew member while for a female it should be 18-22.
Air India declare cabin crew as `temporary unfit' when they fail to reduce weight according to DGCA guidelines and, if the weight issues persist for more than 18 months, the crew would merit `permanent unfitness'. In that case, such crew members are assigned ground jobs that pays less than flying duty.
The reasons for grounding are because they may find it difficult to perform emergency duty if they are overweight. The problem is more with women since they are unable to control BMI after pregnancy and some of them volunteer for ground duties.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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