Too Fat To Fly? Airline Grounding 125 ‘Overweight’ Flight Staff, Stirs Controversy
On Wall Street, the phrase “Too Big To Fail” is well-known. However, in the realm of commercial aviation, the expression, “Too Fat To Fly,” is causing a weighty problem for one airline, this according to a CNBC report.
Sources say Air India is grounding as many as 125 cabin flight staff members for being overweight. At a glance, it seems the airliner is fat-shaming its employees by compelling them to lose weight “or else.” However, officials say the airline’s grounding rule is in compliance with the mandatory policy on the country’s rule on flight fitness. India’s civil aviation authority uses Body Mass Index (or BMI) to calculate a person’s fitness level. The CDC defines the controversial term.
“Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness. BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.”
One airline is treating its flight attendants like luggage http://t.co/RCxLP1LuMK
— The Independent (@Independent) September 16, 2015
Interestingly, this technique is not used to assess overall “fatness” or the relative health of an person. Still, India’s civil airline authority insists on its use. Last year, the agency approved the standards “which state that cabin crew must stay medically fit to discharge duties during in-flight operations including aircraft emergency.”
The airline’s grounding rules for overweight crews are in place. Males must keep up a BMI range between 18 and 25. Female counterparts must have body mass index ranges between 18 and 22.
Any worker deemed “overweight” faces one of two types of action from Air India: they are given notice to lose weight within three months, or be grounded from in-flight activities and reevaluated in three months. Those still deemed too fat to fly face termination after the prescribed period.
The grounding of airline workers comes on the heels of a warning last year to some 600 workers to trim their BMI. Of those, 125 have not been able to meet the required ranges with Air India.
Physical requirements for workers in certain lines of work are nothing new. Military recruits go through strenuous boot camp, and certain retailers require that applicants be able to lift a certain weight without accommodation to perform their jobs.
Overseas airliners have come under fire for restrictive rules governing body weight, and even appearance in some cases. For instance, Czech Airlines requires flight recruits to have a certain BMI and be able to swim up to 100 meters. Additionally, Qatar Airways came under fire last year for defending its rules forbidding women cabin staff from being pregnant or married.
According to a BBC News report, it’s not the first time Air India faced a backlash over its policies. In 2009, the airliner fired nine hostesses for being “overweight.” Officials said their shape could “impair agility” in an emergency.
[Photo by Scott Barbour / Getty Images]
