Air India gives crew fashion dos and don’ts
● Air India has issued sweeping new style regulations for cabin crews, banning everything from grey hair on air stewards to pearls for their female counterparts as new owners revamp the former state carrier.
The guidelines, seen by Bloomberg, go into great detail about what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to crew members’ appearance. One style point notes that while the “bald look is permitted”, men with deep receding hairlines or bald patches will be required to shave their heads — daily. Crew cuts are banned.
Now part of the Tata Sons empire after years of taxpayer-funded bailouts, Air India is also making it mandatory for women cabin crew to wear earrings — but only gold- or diamond-studded ones in a round shape. No pearls. Women aren’t allowed top knots or buns at the nape of the neck, and all hair clips used must be the same size and type.
Other guidelines:
● Ties must touch the centre of the belt buckle;
● Use of hair gel and spray is “mandatory”;
● Grey hair must be regularly coloured in a natural shade;
● For women, blond hair is a no-go and streaking is “strictly not permitted”;
● No wigs and sunglasses when in uniform; and
● Even for layovers or hotel stays, cabin crew can’t wear torn jeans, “revealing” clothes or slippers and flip-flops.
Representatives for Air India and Tata Group didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Air India’s requirements are eyebrowraising at a time when airlines are relaxing rules around crew uniforms amid a postpandemic shortage of staff. Many Western carriers have long dispensed with requirements around weight and attractiveness that used to be pervasive in the industry.
Tight controls aren’t unprecedented, though, especially in Asia. Singapore Airlines is well known for its exacting standards on crew appearance yet recently eased rules around staff pregnancies.
Air India had to reinstate three flight attendants it had fired for being “overweight” in 2014 following a court order. – Bloomberg