Would-be air hostesses ‘forced to strip to their underwear’ during job interview, reports claim

Women hoping to become stewardesses for Kuwait Airways claim they were made to undress so their bodies could be inspected during a recruitment event in Spain.

Three women told Spain’s El Diario news website of the tests they were subjected to at the event held at the Meliá Barajas hotel, near Madrid Airport, in November.

The event - organised by Meccti, which claims to be the world’s largest airline recruitment agency - allegedly involved candidates stripping to their underwear, with a female recruiter taking notes.

According to the accounts, after an initial selection process led by a male recruiter who removed candidates with glasses, visible scars or moles or who were considered to be overweight, the remaining women entered a room individually.

'I felt like an animal in the zoo'

One of the women interviewed, identified only as Bianca, a 23-year-old flight attendant, reportedly said that the first woman who entered the room emerged “in tears” and said she had been made to strip to her underwear.

Bianca claimed that when she went in, the woman asked her to pull up her dress, explaining that she was checking for “scars, birthmarks and tattoos”.

“I pulled it up a little bit, to just below my knee, so she pulled it up to my panties. My dress had a zipper down the back and she asked me to pull it down to my waist and I was standing there in my bra,” said Bianca.

Mariana, also 23, said she ended up wearing only her bra, skirt and tights. “I felt like an animal in the zoo. She was writing things down in a notebook.”

Mariana said that three men had attended the event, but they were turned away immediately and told that the only men the airline recruited were from Kuwait.

María, a 19-year-old studying to be a flight attendant, said that some of the women were asked if they would be willing to lose weight and others whether they would “eat more” to gain weight. María said she had taken off her blouse and trousers.

According to Meccti’s advertisement for the event, candidates had to be more than 5ft 2in tall, with their height and weight “in proportion”, as well as have “excellent overall presentation”.

Neither Kuwait Airways or Meccti responded to The Telegraph’s requests for comment.