Pakistan International Airlines Tells Cabin Crew to Lose Weight or Don't Fly

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In a season of dietary penance for holiday binging and New Year's resolutions centered on weight loss, Pakistan International Airlines has set a hard and fast health goal for its cabin crew staff: Meet our weight requirements or you're off the job.

That is what a new internal memo to airline employees obtained by local media says. The memo lays out a plan for cabin crew members to lose 30 pounds of excess weight by July — shedding five pounds a month for six months. Any employee who doesn't meet the weight requirement, which is the standard body mass index (BMI), will not be permitted to work their scheduled flights.

"If any crew found above 30 lbs from the desired weight after 31st Jan, 2019, will be grounded and referred to Air Crew Medical Center for medical evaluation and treatment until weight is reduced up to desired standard / BMI," the staff memo reads, noting that weight checks for cabin crew will be carried out at the staff's base stations. The employees' "comprehensive" weight measurements will be "maintained for the perusal of Management," the official note says.

The memo is signed by Aamir Bashir, the national flag carrier's general manager of flight services and concludes by stating that "strict compliance is required."