An Indian airline has grounded 125 flight attendants for being “overweight,” CNN International reports.
Air India has reassigned male flight attendants who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 25 and female crew members who have a BMI higher than 22 to ground positions at airports, according to the report.
The network said the company, which is state-owned, says the reassignments were allowed by Indian aviation regulations.
{mosads}A spokesman for the company said the decision to ground larger flight attendants is a “safety issue.”
“The crew has to be fit to be able to carry out their inflight duties, including emergencies,” Air India spokesman G.P. Rao told the network.
Rao added that employees who are reassigned because of their weight will not be fired.
“It is an opportunity for them to bring themselves back to the (required) fitness level,” he said, according to the report. “If they cannot because of any medical reasons, they will be offered ground duties.”