Air India grounded 34 cabin crew members for being 'obese'
Air India has grounded 34 cabin crew members, including 30 air hostesses, due to high Body Mass Index, the government said. Cabin crew who are in the obese category are grounded to enable them to attain prescribed limits, Union Minister Jayant Sinha said. Notably, cabin crew members found overweight are deemed temporarily unfit and given three months to reduce weight.n
New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) 34 cabin crew members, including 30 air hostesses, of Air India are grounded for being "obese", the government said today. Currently, the total strength of cabin crew in the national carrier stands at 3,490. "At present, 34 cabin crew (30 female and 4 male) are grounded due to high Body Mass Index (BMI)," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. As per the DGCA guidelines the maximum BMI for women is 22 while for men it is 25. "Therefore, cabin crew who are in obese category are grounded to enable them to attain the prescribed limits," he said. Sinha further said, "Air India provides enough opportunity to cabin crew to reduce their weight. Once the cabin crews are out of obese category, they are taken back for flying duties." 