Chinese airline causes controversy when hiring "flight attendants" up to 40 years old

(Dan Tri) - Spring Airlines (China) has just announced a plan to recruit female flight attendants aged 25-40, with priority given to those who are married or have children, called "flight aunts".

According to the South China Morning Post , Shanghai-based low-cost carrier Spring Airlines announced the recruitment of new flight attendants, working in Shanghai, Gansu and Lanzhou. Candidates must have a university degree, be 162-174cm tall, and have experience in customer service.

The airline claims that this group of flight attendants has “life experience and empathy” and is good at supporting young and elderly passengers.

Typically, Chinese airlines hire flight attendants aged 18-25, so Spring Airlines’ move quickly became a hot topic. However, the term “flight auntie” has received mixed reviews because it is considered “disrespectful” to women.

Spring Airlines is recruiting female flight attendants aged 25-40, with priority given to those who are married or have children (Photo: SCMP).

Some people support this, seeing it as a positive sign that the recruitment criteria are shifting to skills and professionalism instead of appearance and youth. On the contrary, some people think that the airline should use a common title for all flight attendants, regardless of age and gender.

Many comments say that this term implies that older women are "no longer young" and evokes the image of traditional housewives.

“This way of calling is disrespectful, highlighting the fact that they are married and old,” one person commented.

A representative of Spring Airlines explained that the airline did not intend to offend, but only wanted to differentiate between married candidates.

“Duties, income and career path are the same as other flight attendants,” the airline said, adding that the term “flight aunt” appeared in the 1990s when China recruited unemployed female textile workers to become flight attendants.

A Spring Airlines flight attendant chats with passengers on a flight (Photo: Reuters).

According to Chao News , Spring Airlines currently has 88 “flight aunties”, 74% of whom hold management positions. A married flight attendant shared: “We have the advantage of working, raising children, taking care of the elderly, and naturally becoming the eldest sister in the team.”

Spring Airlines said it would support training costs for older candidates but did not specify whether it would recruit older male flight attendants.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/hang-bay-trung-quoc-gay-tranh-cai-khi-tuyen-di-hang-khong-den-40-tuoi-20251103193453788.htm