What takes place at a medical for cabin crew?
When you apply for a flight attendant job you are required to be in excellent physical form. These attendants are prone to infections due to irregular patterns of sleep and inhaling recycled air in a pressurised atmosphere. The cabin crew medical is used to prove that an applicant is physically fit and can stand the nature of the job.
The medical is one more hustle after applying and getting accepted as a cabin crew.
The medical is always a concern for so many new cabin crew, who are concerned about what to expect and what potentially they could fail the medical. There is very little information out there, so here is a short guide to the airline medical procedures for cabin crew.
Most airlines in the UK have a basic medical for all cabin crew and this relies on your honesty when filling in the medical form. Cabin crew has to be physically fit to fly daily and limited sick days are allowed.
Currently, the UK cabin crew medical consists of:
- A medical form or declaration of health to fill in, declaring any pre-existing conditions or medications used and illnesses or operations in the last two years. There are also general questions about your health.
- At the cabin crew medical your height and weight will be checked.
- You will have to provide a urine sample so that you can be tested for diabetes and drug/alcohol substances. During your flying career you may be tested at any time for drugs or alcohol and if you fail the test, you may well lose your job
- Your ears and hearing and eyes and sight will also be checked, the minimum vision has to be 6/9.
- You may have to show any birthmarks or scars mostly for identification purposes.
- Blood pressure, lung function and heart rate will also be checked during the cabin crew medical.
- You may be asked to lift a heavy item, reach a certain height or bend to a specific position. The reach test is so that you can reach emergency equipment in the overhead lockers.
- You will have to have selected immunizations such as tetanus, polio, tuberculosis and yellow fever.
Airlines have to assess whether the cabin crew can deal with these issues. They will also be looking for any evidence of drug or alcohol abuse or even the use of medication for stress and anxiety as these are not allowed and if found, your application will be terminated and you will be denied the job. If you have a pre-existing condition, you must mention.
However, if your condition is being successfully treated by prescribed medication is a low-risk condition, you may be allowed to continue your application. If you are taking medication on a regular basis, you must declare it, or this could be influential on your job application or even give you a false positive reading for drugs on your blood test.
After the cabin crew medical, the results are then sent off to be processed and the wait starts again to get medical clearance. At Manchester Medicals, you will this and more services. Contact us for more information.