From the earth, their profession seems to be pure pleasure: they flutter around the world, enjoy free travel and never get bored. Is it so? In fact, sky fairies have to lift weights, separate fighting men, and even take birth. Emergencies, inadequate passengers, stress and overload – what else is a dream job dangerous for?
1. Rigid framework
Even at the selection stage, flight attendants are subject to a lot of requirements, sometimes close to absurd. Previously, however, it was even cooler: height exactly 160 cm, weight no more than 60 kg, no husbands and children – these were the parameters the first flight attendants had to meet. Today, each airline has its own standards, sometimes every little thing is negotiated – from the length of the skirt to the color of the underwear.Emirates regulate breast size (no more than 75 C), Lufthansa – the color of nail polish. China Southern Airlines hire girls with shoe sizes up to 36, French Aigle Azur with hips up to 100 cm, and British Airways employees must have hair no lower than their shoulders.
You will have to comply with these standards throughout your career: according to some airlines flight attendants, they were removed from foreign flights for clothing sizes larger than 46, and a British stewardess was fired for wearing a pectoral cross. No wonder many consider them simply irresistible: the most sultry flight attendants in the world are yet still in the sky.
2. Health problems
Work in the sky does not go unnoticed: due to constant noise, hearing deteriorates, night flights and frequent change of time zones lead to sleep disturbances and depression, physical activity leads to problems with joints, pressure and heart. The cart that the girls so gracefully move down the aisle weighs 100-140 kg.
The most common occupational disease is varicose veins: flight attendants spend the entire flight on their feet. And with the impact of ionizing radiation, which is noticeably harder at altitude than on the earth’s surface, doctors associate an increased risk of oncology.
3. Loneliness
Some airlines still only hire free women: Lufthansa flight attendants must be single, British Airways must not have children. Due to the difficult schedule for dating, romance and family life, they have neither time nor energy. There are only enough breaks between flights to get enough sleep and a little rest, and at work there is usually no time for flirting. There are rare (but well-aimed) exceptions.
4. No plans
With an irregular working day, life becomes unpredictable and turns into chronic stress: the flight schedule changes every month, in emergency cases they can be called to work at any time of the day or night. The same goes for rest and travel between flights – even if flight attendants are released for a couple of days, the situation may change, and you will have to return to the plane in a few hours.
5. Additional responsibilities
The main duty of flight attendants is to ensure safety, and not at all to serve passengers, but the latter often forget about this, pestering them with their requests and whims. To a heap since the beginning of 2020, world carriers have abandoned the services of cleaning companies, and now, after short flights, flight attendants also have to clean the aircraft cabin and wash toilets.
6. How we could help
Let us give as an example some practical advice from our internationally associated Ukrainian reproductologist Dr. Olena Mozgova for representatives of this profession, as a reminder, you can download it for yourself directly in the desktop version format. After all, it’s not a joke for all of us to think, right? For flight attendants, we provide the possibility of organizing round-the-clock coaching and medical consultations, taking into account the schedule of their flights, you can leave a request directly on our website by choosing a time convenient for you.