Tata Group-owned Air India announced new grooming standards for its male and female cabin staff, which included a ban on wearing black clothes and religious thread on the wrist, neck, and ankle. The circular, running more than 40 pages, instructed all crew members to immediately adhere to the uniform regulations as released by Air India.
No Grey Hair, No Crew Cuts
As part of Air India's focus on grooming, the airline has asked that its cabin staff frequently dye their grey hair in natural tones as part of standards that encompass travel even while they are on leave, raising eyebrows on the stern uniform codes. "Grey hair is not permitted. Grey hair must be regularly coloured in [a] natural shade. Fashion colours and henna are not permitted," stated the guidelines.
The airline, in the circular, said that male crew must maintain a clean-shaven appearance or a bald appearance if they have deep receding hairlines or balding patches. "Head must be shaved daily," it said, adding that there can be no crew cuts.
Religious Threads, Rings Barred
Religious rings with coloured stones and pearls, nose pins and neck jewellery, and thumb rings are among the items not allowed, reported Indian Express. The airline justified the guidelines saying wearing such jewellery causes delays during security checks. Additionally, the guideline also barred the crew from sporting Black and religious thread on the wrist, neck, and ankle.
For females, the guidelines said, "A small bindi is allowed with a saree only (optional) and must be within 0.5 cm in size. Big-size bindi is not permitted." The female crew can use only four medium-sized black tic-tacs or bobby pins on the hair. The type and size of the pins must match. Short open hair must be blow-dried or permanently smoothed, it stated.
Mixed Reactions From Twitterati
Since being acquired by Tata earlier this year, the airline has announced other grooming guidelines in addition to this one. Soon after the acquisition, Tata Group urged its flight attendants to wear the least amount of jewellery possible to prevent delays. It said that the cabin staff must follow the dress code requirements, focusing on wearing little jewellery to prevent delays at customs and security inspections.
This guideline has stirred multiple reactions among netizens. While a few think that these codes are unnecessarily strict, others see it as a move to bring uniformity and discipline among the crew. "Basic grooming is necessary, but the conditions mentioned, I feel, are just breaching the walls of 'objectification'," said a user on Twitter.
However, another commented, "Hope it imbibes discipline and leads to more revenue", thus agreeing with the new guidelines.
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