Actually odlaaspa,
The office I refer to is in Dubai. The person I spoke to is the head pilot recruiter for EK. The cleaning staff are all very nice people but they do not much care for knowing about what the requirments are. Nor should they. I asked because I have several friends who do not have the 55 tons and are intrested in coming. If you do not agree, why dont you ask? I hope they drop it as a requirment again.
Good luck everyone.