Colour creates in-flight turbulence

SC, ST women candidates allege they can’t make it to cabin crew jobs because they’re dark

CHENNAI: Soundarapandian and Chinnathai, agricultural labourers in Nachikulam village of Madurai in Tamil Nadu were on cloud nine when their daughter S Revathi (20) got into the Air Hostess Academy (AHA), to be trained under a government programme for girls of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

But after nine months of training and two interviews, Revathi told her parents recently that she would never make it to the aircraft cabin, because of her dark complexion.

Revathi was among the 300 SC/ ST girls selected from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to be trained for the airlines and hospitality industries. Though the first batch of 100 students has passed out of the AHA in Bangalore and two more batches in Chennai and Pune are about to complete the course, only a couple of them have been placed as cabin crew. More than 150 have landed jobs, but as ground staff and in airport lounges of hotels.

While deficiencies in “personality” and “communication” are cited as common reasons for rejection, most of the girls say the message is clear, if not loud: not fair, no in-flight job.

“The in-flight training we got at Kingfisher Airlines was a shocking eye-opener,” says A Anitha (18) in crisp English. “The message was subtly conveyed to us that we need to be not just as fluent as them (the working crew), but also as fair as them.”

Adds R Pappati (19), who has just learnt to be comfortable in a tight skirt: “I didn’t know how to apply a lipstick till I started the course. Now I know how to apply make-up and do a French roll. But all that is not enough. I will be lucky if I get a ground job.”

Sources in the airlines industry admit that though recruitment guidelines do not discriminate in terms of skin colour, the fair-skinned are often preferred.

AHA director Daya Prakash agrees that “not more than two or three” of the trainees have landed in-flight jobs. “Getting cabin crew jobs is not easy for these people. Complexion may not be an impediment, but they need more personal grooming,” he says.

In-flight head of Air Deccan, Vijaya Lucose, says the airline does not have an airhostess from the scheduled tribe or scheduled caste as there is no quota system. “We look for a clear complexion and a pleasant face. Skin colour does not matter,” she says.

AVP, HR, at Kingfisher, Rubi Arya, voices the same sentiment. “Skin tone does not make a great difference but we do focus on a flight attendant’s overall skin quality, or ‘the essence of contemporary femininity’.  The debate is not about fair versus dark complexion. We want to sport a very trendy look which ensures that each team member has a unique personality which is vibrant and hep, yet professional and welcoming.”

(with inputs from Bhargavi Kerur)