New Delhi: The days of overweight cabin crew serving passengers on board may soon be numbered, with aviation regulator DGCA all set to come out with new regulations on medical fitness of cabin crew that stipulate the body mass index (BMI) levels to be adhered to, sources said.
The DGCA will put into place new regulations to ensure that only cabin crew with adequate fitness levels are allowed to fly, sources said.
Body Mass Index is recognised as “one of the better methods to determine who is overweight or obese” and is “a reliable indicator of body fat. While the BMI is calculated based on weight and height of the individual, it does not measure body fat directly but correlates it to direct measures of body fat.
A few years ago, national carrier Air India had grounded a few of its cabin crew for being overweight but the matter then went into litigation.
Action against cabin crew on grounds of being overweight is therefore a prickly issue.
Airlines, however, do carry out regular medical checks on cabin crew, to ensure they are medically fit to perform their duties during flights.
Sources said the DGCA is focusing on medical fitness standards of cabin crew and will issue civil aviation regulations in this regard in view of the important role that cabin crew perform during flights especially during various flight emergencies.
