Medical certificate
The record that you have passed a cabin crew medical — a periodic medical report in Europe, an airline or state certificate elsewhere.
Definition
A medical certificate for cabin crew is the formal record that you have passed the required aero-medical assessment and are fit to operate. Under EASA it is the cabin crew medical report issued after assessment by an aero-medical examiner or approved occupational health practitioner, valid for a period of years and renewed thereafter; in India the DGCA sets its own periodic medical; in the Gulf, the airline's medical department holds your fitness record to its regulator's standard. In the United States the FAA requires no medical certificate for flight attendants.
What it means for you
Your medical is a licence to fly in all but name: let it lapse and you are grounded until it is renewed, and a change in health — pregnancy, surgery, a new medication — normally requires a review before you operate again. Keep the renewal date in your diary, because crew control will not always chase you, and know your airline's rules on declaring conditions. The pregnancy and sick-leave guide covers what happens when fitness changes mid-career.
In practice
In the EASA world a new joiner leaves the initial medical with a cabin crew medical report from an aero-medical examiner; Kenya Airways lists a cabin crew medical certificate among its requirements; Royal Air Maroc asks for a certificate of physical and mental fitness.
Go deeper
Related terms
3 terms- Aviation medicalRecruitmentThe medical examination a joiner must pass before flying: regulator-defined in Europe, airline-run in the Gulf and the US.
- EASARegulationEuropean Union Aviation Safety Agency — the EU regulator whose Air Operations rules set cabin crew training, attestation and duty limits.
- DGCARegulationDirectorate General of Civil Aviation — India's regulator, setting cabin crew training, medical and duty rules for every Indian airline.