Air hostess or flight attendants are the cabin crew which assist the passengers and provide them with all their requirements. They are also known as stewards/stewardesses. The most important responsibility of the flight attendant is to ensure the safety of the passengers and make them aware of any kind of dangers which they could encounter during their journey. The attendants are; however, separate from the pilot or the other people in the cockpit. There are many institutes which are established all around the country to train the air hostesses. They are trained to talk in a polite manner to the passengers and also to serve meals to them.

The international safety regulations have fixed the number of flight attendants which are required in a flight. The planes in which there are no more than 19 passenger seats, no flight attendant is required. For larger planes, 1 attendant per 50 passenger seats is mandatory. Most of the air hostesses are females but recently, even males have entered this industry. The crew also help the passengers with their luggage and assist them in boarding their flight properly and on time. They make regular announcements to ensure this.

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Physical Requirements of an Air Hostess

First of all, there is a minimum age requirement to become a flight attendant. For some airlines, it is 18 years and for some others, 21 years. This is because the role of the cabin crew is of high pressure as the safety of the passengers is in their hand. Also, they should have some level of maturity to handle difficult situations which come with age.

Many airlines have a certain height requirement to ensure that safety equipment can be handled by them properly. The average acceptable height lies between 150 to 185 cms. Also, the airlines ensure that the cabin crew comply with the height to weight proportion too. Persons, who are outside this normal range, may not be qualified to be a flight attendant.

 Reach is another parameter which is considered, even though it is closely related to height. The person should have a reach of 208 cms approx. It’s said that some airlines would allow you to stand on the balls of your feet! The person should have a minimum of 20/30 vision because he/ she should be able to see and observe everything carefully.

The physical appearance of the flight attendant should be such that it never offends anyone. There are strict grooming regulations which are followed by certain airlines and the cabin crew needs to fulfil those. Their hair and makeup should be on point. Their shoes should be shining and their uniform should be clean and ironed without any stain on it.

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They should not have any unnatural colour in their hair and the length of their air should be below the collar. If they have a tattoo on their body, it should be covered by clothing. They are not allowed to have a tattoo on their neck or face. Also, they are not allowed to have any kind of piercings except for their ears. Men should not have any beard. If they wish to keep a moustache, then they should keep it neatly trimmed.  Sideburns should not be lower than halfway down the ear.

Qualifications of an Air Hostess

The crew members are usually trained for a period of four weeks to six months in the country where the headquarters of the airline lies. The attendants are checked out for every type of aircraft that they work for. There are many training academies all over the world which provide such training to the prospective candidates. For example, the Breech Academy opened by the Trans World Airlines in 1969. There are many other generic schools too which provides training to the candidates by providing them with modules to help them gain employment.

The flight attendants should know to converse in different languages according to the passengers’ flight they are carrying. They should be fluent in English as it is a universal language and is understood by almost everyone. They should have excellent listening and comprehending skills as they need to talk to and assist the passengers with their problems. Also, they should have good reading and writing skills.

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 They should have a good and charming personality. They should be patient enough to listen to the passengers and be flexible enough to deal with every different kind of person travelling in the aeroplane. They should be able to multitask effectively and have a positive attitude.  They should be very observant during the journey and should be able to detect any kind of mishappening during the flight.

Therefore, the task of an air hostess is a very responsible task. They are required to train hard to be able to protect themselves and the passengers on board.

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