Malaysia Airlines is facing uncomfortable questions about the treatment of its staff amid angry claims that some of its cabin crew have been sacked for being “overweight”.

The Far Eastern carrier has been accused of ageism and body-shape discrimination after it was revealed that five of its employees - all over the age of 50 - have had their contracts terminated.

The flight attendants - three men and two women - have worked for the airline for more than 20 years, but have been told their services are no longer required, according to the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM).

“This is a classic case of discrimination which needs to be stopped," NUFAM president Ismail Nasaruddin told Kuala Lumpur newspaper The New Straits Times.

“It is unfair and cruel to the cabin crew.”

NUFAM says that the firings are only the beginning of a broader purge - and that another 20 crew members are expected to be dismissed shortly.

Mr Nasaruddin added that the airline's decision is against the terms of the staff members' terms of employment.

“This is the same as sacking any female workers for being sick or pregnant. It is unacceptable,” he said.

The affected workers were sent letters about their weight before they received their notices of termination - but Mr Nasruddin has denounced this move, saying that the crew members' contracts do not allow them to be dismissed in this way.

“This was only included in their policy, which has never been acknowledged,” he argued.

Mr Nasruddin produced an example of this mail-out at a press conference. It was sent to the staff member in question on September 14.

It states that the recipient had “continuously failed to achieve their ideal weight as per the company’s grooming manual”.

It reveals that the ideal weight for Malaysia Airlines cabin crew is apparently 67kg. The weight of the crew member who received the letter was 89kg.

The letter added that the recipient had failed to achieve the lighter figure despite being on a weight management programme for 18 months.

Malaysia Airlines has refused to comment on the matter beyond a short statement.

“Malaysia Airlines wishes to state that any issue involving its staff remains an internal matter and will not be discussed publicly,” it announced.

“All internal processes were followed before we arrived at the decision.”

NUFAM has said it will fight the dismissals.

“We are not taking this matter lightly and will proceed with legal action if this situation remains unchanged,” Mr Nasaruddin continued.

“I hope the [Malaysian] Transport Ministry and Human Resources Ministry will help to look into this matter and find an amicable and fair solution.”

This is not the first time a major airline has encountered turbulence after being seen to lay off cabin crew members over a certain age or weight.

In April a Russian court rejected claims from a group of flight attendants calling istelf STS - a Russian abbreviation for “old, fat, ugly” - that they were moved from international to domestic services in a row over their appearance.

Aeroflot was accused of laying off staff over a certain age Credit: This content is subject to copyright./MIGUEL MEDINA

Evgeniya Magurina, one of the stewardesses, said that, in the summer of 2016, Aeroflot had introduced rules governing how female flight attendants should look - with those who did not comply being dropped from major routes.

“All stewardesses were photographed, measured and weighed by the airline in June last year, supposedly to have new uniforms ordered,” she said.

“Everyone older than 40 or with clothing size larger than small or medium was taken off international flights.”

The case was thrown out by a Moscow court in April of this year.

No stranger to controversy, Ryanair has also provoked accusations of sexism in a different way - by publishing a regular calendar of female cabin crew members in bikinis.

The budget airline has justified “The Girls of Ryanair” by saying that proceeds go to charity.

Ryanair scrapped its calendar in 2014

Spanish consumer rights group FACUA has decried the calendar, saying that “the company is attacking the dignity of women workers in general and especially of cabin crew members, by presenting stereotypical images of these professionals which they have spent years struggling against.”