Air India to introduce crew fitness policy; lapses may lead to pay loss

Air India is planning to introduce a health and fitness compliance policy for its cabin crew, under which those found underweight, overweight or obese could face derostering and loss of pay. The compliance assessment will be based on the cabin crew members' Body Mass Index (BMI) with a reading of 18-24.9 defined as 'normal' and accepted as 'desired range' by the airline. A BMI reading of less than 18 will be considered as 'underweight', though it may be acceptable subject to clearing of medical evaluation and functional assessment, according to the policy accessed by PTI. A BMI reading in the range of 25-29.9 will be defined as 'overweight' and will be considered acceptable, provided the cabin crew member clears the functional assessment. As per the policy, to be effective from May 1, a reading of 30 or above is 'obese' and not an acceptable range. A cabin crew member will be derostered if he or she is either 'underweight' or 'overweight' and will be required to clear the function