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Russian Flight Attendants Win Aeroflot Discrimination Case

Thomas Hawk / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Moscow City Court has ruled in favor of Russian flight attendants in their suit against Russia's largest airline Aeroflot from discriminating against large women, Russian media said citing the court’s press service.

Ksenia Mikhailichenko, attorney for a group of stewardesses, told RBC that the court had recognized Aeroflot's requirement banning employment by women who wore large sizes as 'unenforceable'.

Moscow City Court also obliged Aeroflot to pay 5,000 rubles ($87) as well as back pay bonuses to Yevgenia Magurina, a flight attendant who had originally filed a discrimination suit against the airline.

Aeroflot said it was happy with the court decision, noting that the company did not discriminate against employees on the bases of age, gender, race or other attributes.

Magurina and a group of other Aeroflot employees unsuccessfully sued Aeroflot earlier this year after they said company officials told them in 2016 that "only young and slender' women could be employed by the airline and that those with a size larger than 48 (XL) would not be allowed on international flights.

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