For a long time, the aviation industry has been deciding standards of beauty and hiring attractive women as cabin crew, a profession meant to help out passengers on a flight, and it has been accused of sexism for the same. Now, the Chinese aviation industry has gone a step further — men and women seeking employment as flight attendants were made to parade in swimwear.
The event was hosted by a modelling agency in Qiangdao in China, where 1000 high school graduates participating for a chance to become flight attendants walked down the ramp in uniforms and swimwear, as other modelling agencies and representatives from airlines were in audience, Mirror reported.
While a bikini round seems justified for those who might be selected as models, but it’s unclear how that is needed for those auditioning as flight attendants, since both professions have different requirements.
Earlier a Chinese airline was reported to have rejected candidates who were “too ugly” to be flight attendants, and a Vietnamese airline was fined for an in-flight bikini dance performance.
Other requirements for women to be employed as cabin crew were, elegant slim physique without scars on exposed parts, sweet voice and a minimum height of five feet six, which can be reduced by an inch if the candidate is “exceptionally good looking”, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Airlines in China have been known to adhere to strict height requirements for air hostesses and the profession is considered to be a highly competitive space.