A Russian court has ruled the airliner Aeroflot cannot tell its staff what clothes size to wear.
It sided with two female flight attendants who sued the airliner for alleged discrimination, saying they had been shifted to less lucrative routes because of their body size.
Aeroflot had told its attendants they could not wear uniforms larger than a size 48 (UK 16 / EUR 42 / US 14).
But the court did not explicitly rule Aeroflot policy was discriminatory.
Instead, it awarded a small amount of compensation for the loss of salary and a sum for additional suffering.
‘Goes against common sense’
Aeroflot said it would examine the ruling closely before deciding if it should change its guidelines.
A spokesperson for the company told Russia’s Tass news agency it was satisfied that the court had not found its actions discriminatory.
After the partial victory, one of the employees in the case, Irina Ierusalimskaya, told reporters her clothes size had nothing to do with her performance.
“I’m sure that the size of clothing cannot be applied to professional qualities. That goes against common sense. Because, first of all, one should be professional in what you do, and looks are secondary,” she said.
During the initial court case, the airline had said it regards heavily-built flight attendants as less suited to emergencies, when quick action is required.
It also argued that every extra kilogram of weight forces it to spend more on fuel.
Its application form for would-be flight attendants requires details of height, weight and clothing size.
BBC
