Air hostess applicant 'had breasts checked for implants during job interview'

By RICHARD SHEARS Last updated at 8:12 AM on 25th August 2011 Dozens of women applying for air hostess jobs with an Indonesian airline were ordered to strip nearly naked and have their breasts handled in medical check-ups, one of the applicants claimed today. She said Garuda - Indonesia's main airline - wanted to screen out women who had tattoos on their breasts or who had had breast implants. As part of the medical check-up, they had to strip down to just their pants, the woman making the allegations claimed. Declining to be named - because she said she still wanted the coveted job - the woman said the breast checks were carried out at the airline's South Korean branch in Seoul. Air hostesses at work on a Garuda International flight The applicants hoped to snare one of the 18 positions being offered for flight attendants. 'The hand examination on breast was held since those with implants can have health issues when air pressure falls during flights,' the South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted an airline official as saying. The official said cabin crew were banned from having tattoos and workers hired in other countries such as Japan and Australia were also subjected to a similar examination. However claims about the check-ups have angered women's rights groups, which described the process as unnecessary and intrusive. 'I wonder if such a practice is acceptable in Indonesia,' said Ms Kim Da-Mi, who works with the Sexual Violence Relief Centre in Seoul. A job applicant claims she had her breasts felt during her interview A spokesman for South Korea's main airline, Korean Air, described the tests as 'bizarre'. He said: 'We've never heard of or done such check-ups on flight attendants but I wonder if this means that passengers with breast implants should not fly also.' At Garuda Indonesia's office in Seoul, a spokesman said the medical tests should have followed routine procedures - and those do not include such examinations. 'We are investigating the matter by questioning managers and the doctor who was in charge of the check-up,' said spokesman Park Sung-Hyun. 'This is very embarrassing.' It has not been revealed whether the doctor is female or male. Flight attendant jobs are keenly sought by South Korean women, enticed by high pay and travel opportunities. Thousands prepare for years, attending beauty salons and ensuring they have a high education standard before applying for vacancies. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029485/Indonesia-airline-check-air-hostess-applicants-breasts-implants-job-interview.html

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