Airline Grounds “Overweight” Flight Attendants
Joe Cortez August 25, 2015
A Chinese airline is allegedly grounding or firing flight attendants who exceed its rigid weight restrictions.
A flight attendant for Qingdao Airlines may be grounded not because of performance issues, but because her employer claims she is too fat to fly. South China Morning Post reports at least one flight attendant has been grounded by the airline after failing to meet weight regulations.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sets strict guidelines for female flight attendants, with a maximum height of 5′ 5″ and a maximum weight of 159 lbs. Qingdao Airlines has an even more stringent requirement, listing their maximum age for applying at 30 years old and maximum weight at 150 lbs.
Quoting Chinese-language website thepaper.cn, SCMP reports flight attendants are accusing the airline of grounding or firing employees who exceed its strict weight regulation.
In a statement, an airline representative defended the weight policy. “We are concerned that exceeding weight standards will compromise the ability of cabin crew members to respond in emergency situations and we hope the crew can maintain good body shape,” said the representative, going on to deny that any Qingdao Airlines employees have been grounded or fired for violating the weight policy.
The situation is the latest move among the ongoing discussion of human weight aboard commercial aircraft. In August, Uzbekistan Airways announced a plan to weigh passengers prior to boarding.
[Photo: SCMP]
So if they grow taller than 5'5" they will be sacked too?
Someone who is 5'5" and weighs 155 is a real porker and is too fat to get up and down the aisles to rescue passengers in an emergency. A airline dares to have reasonable rules and people squawk about it.
Good comment KRSW all airlines should have maximum weight for FAs. As a passenger you expect the FAs to be able to perform all safety aspects of their duties as demonstrated during training. I also experienced an internal flight where most passengers had to put on extral clothing due to (I believe) the large FA who was 'glistening' profusely and had the temperature turned down.
This should apply to all US airlines
In fairness, 5'5" and 159 lbs puts someone in the Obese category on the BMI scale. I do agree with the airline -- it is a job safety issue. No different than the 400 lb stagehand I worked with. Nice guy but there was no way in hell I'd let him work in the overhead or a truss spotlight. After he had a dramatic weight loss and was under 250 lbs, we let him go upstairs all the time.