Evgenia Magurina, the Aeroflot stewardess who was told she was "too fat to fly," has spoken out about the Russian national airline in a candid interview with BBC News.
This comes days after she and another flight attendant, Irina Ierusalimskaya, won their legal fight against Aeroflot, which stood accused of gender discrimination after docking Magurina's pay for not meeting the airline's dress size requirement.
"I was in shock at first, it didn't make sense," she told BBC. "They said the 'success' of a stewardess depends on her size, and that really offended me.'
Aeroflot has denied accusations of discrimination, however, Magurina pointed out that cabin crew members were forced to have their measurements and photographs taken last year.
Magurina was allegedly told she had "big cheeks and a big bust" and was advised to wear a sports bra. Not long after this incident, the stewardess said her bonus pay had been docked. Furthermore, she was removed from the airline's more lucrative, long-haul flights. She was told it was because she did not meet the size requirements specified for cabin crew, which was a Russian size 48 or U.S. size 12.
Magurina decided to sue.
Last week The Guardian noted that a Moscow court ruled against Aeroflot, ordering the airline to compensate Magurina and Ierusalimskaya for the earnings they had lost after being removed from the long-haul flights.
Speaking about the verdict, Magurina told BBC she hoped "this means women will be braver in fighting for their rights."
The Aeroflot case is not an isolated incident.
In 2015 The Telegraph noted that at least 600 cabin crew of Air India were told to lose weight within six months or face being taken off flights and forced to work on the ground.
The report further stated that 10 flight attendants were previously grounded after they failed to lose weight in 2009.
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