Romanian woman tells that she had to undress for a flight attendant position

Several female candidates, including a Romanian, for the flight attendant position at Kuwait Airways told that they were asked to undress so that the recruiters could check their bodies, reports the Spanish newspaper El Diario, quoted by Business Insider.

Several women who participated in a job interview for the position of flight attendants at Kuwait Airways revealed to the Spanish press that employees at the recruitment firm Meccti asked them to remain in their underwear to see if the future flight attendants they have scars, birthmarks or tattoos, according to the above-mentioned source.

“I felt like an animal at the zoo,” said Mariana, 23, who was asked to remain in her underwear and skirt while a recruiter took notes in a notebook.

The incident took place in November 2022 at a hotel in Madrid, where the recruitment organized by Meccti, a large agency that mediates staff recruitment for airlines, took place.

According to El Diario sources, the interview began in a stressful atmosphere after the recruiters did a first inspection of the candidates and rejected women with glasses, braces, visible moles or scars, as well as those who, in their opinion, were overweight.

Mariana said that some women were asked if they would be willing to lose weight, and the recruiters allegedly rejected a candidate because “they didn’t like her skin or her smile.” 

And the three men out of about 60 people who took part in the selection were turned away by being told that only Kuwaiti men are employed by the airline.

Bianca, a 23-year-old young woman from Romania, said that the recruiters asked the girls who passed the pre-selection to enter a room, where they had to undress.

“The first girl who came in came out crying,” Bianca told El Diario, noting that she couldn’t believe it.”I was standing there in just my bra”.

When Bianca entered the room, the female recruiter asked her to lift her dress. “I pulled it up a little below the knee, so she pulled it down to her panties. My dress had a zip in the back and she asked me to pull it up to my waist, so I was standing there in just my bra,” Bianca said.

The recruiter told Bianca that he was checking for “scars, birthmarks and tattoos”.

María, a 19-year-old student, also said: “First I took off my blouse and left my trousers on – and then the other way around.” 

Meccti agency’s announcement for the recruitment event stated that candidates had to be at least 1.70 meters tall, with “proportionate weight and height”, and have “excellent general presentation”.

The Spanish Ministry of Labor has opened an investigation into the employment process carried out by the Meccti agency. Joaquín Pérez Rey, Spain’s secretary of state for employment, described the alleged behavior of the recruiters as “intolerable behavior that violates the dignity and fundamental rights of these women”.

Kuwait Airways said it has been using the services of the Meccti agency for five years and has had no problems so far, stating that it has launched an investigation into the problems reported, according to AviacioOnline.