Too fat to fly? Chinese airline reportedly grounds overweight flight attendant

A domestic airline in China has barred a flight attendant from flying because she exceeded requirements for cabin crew, a news website quoted a company employee as saying.

A crew member from Qingdao Airlines said the airline stopped flight attendants from flying or sacked them if they did not meet height-to-weight ratio requirements, reported Shanghai-based news website Thepaper.cn.

The crew member, who was not named, said one flight attendant had been grounded, but refused to give further details.

A representative from the company admitted it had stringent weight requirements, but denied any employee had been barred from flying or sacked over the issue.

China’s civil aviation authority guidelines state that women flight attendants who are between 160cm and 172cm tall should weigh between 45kg and 73 kg.

To apply to be a flight attendant with Qingdao Airlines, women must be younger than 30, between 165cm and 172cm tall and weigh between 50kg and 68kg, according to recruitment requirements listed on its website.