Aviation regulator lays down fresh guidelines for cabin crew fitness
Cabin crew above the age of 50 will need to pass medical checks every year to ensure they are fit to fly and not overweight for their duties
New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made it mandatory for cabin crew above the age of 50 to undergo more frequent medical checks to ensure that they are fit to fly and not overweight for their duties.
Director General of Civil Aviation Prabhat Kumar issued the directions on Tuesday.
The rules are likely to affect state-owned Air India Ltd the most—it has about 3,000 cabin crew, a third of which are over 40 years of age. Some were found to have diabetes, hypertension and high levels of cholesterol when Air India conducted medical checks on them last year.
“The CAR (civil aviation requirements) prescribes the requirement of body mass index (BMI) and rules for disposal of high BMI cases in terms of overweight and obese cabin crew," the aviation regulator said in a statement.
These requirements have been issued under Aircraft Rules 1937, which state that cabin crew must remain medically fit to discharge duties during in-flight operations, including emergencies, as specified in the airline’s operations manual.
Considering the requirement of agility to perform cabin safety duty efficiently, the frequency of medical check-ups for the cabin crew will be once every four years till the age of 40, once every two years till 50 and yearly above 50.
Based on the medical report, the cabin crew shall be categorized as fit, temporary unfit and permanently unfit, DGCA said. “CAR also lays down the appellate mechanism in cases of any grievance against the medical examination. CAR has been issued after extensive consultations with stakeholders and has become effective immediately," the regulator said.
DGCA had first proposed these standards in 2012, Mint had reported on 9 August.
Air India’s largest cabin crew union All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) reacted sharply to the new DGCA rules. “With the DGCA now placing technical and medical stipulations almost on par with all other licensed flying categories, the AICCA reiterates its demand for Licensing of Cabin Crew in India, in line with the ICAO & European Directives on this subject," AICCA general secretary Sanjay Lazar said.
“The AICCA also notes with concern the additional stipulations spelt out in the press release which conflict with various Settlements of AICCA, and the awards of Justices Khosla & Mahesh Chandra and also with the Medical Annuity Settlement. The AICCA looks forward to engaging in discussion with the DGCA."
New York-based former Jet Airways (India) Ltd chief executive officer Steve Forte said the regulator should ask airlines to give older crew members a ground job with similar pay.
“DGCA has a very good point with regards to the ability to perform emergency duties. After all, cabin and passenger safety is the real purpose of cabin crew members. Unfortunately, many passengers do not realize this and treat cabin crew as servants," said Forte.
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