In an internal memo released this week, British Airways company told all pilots and cabin crew to ‘be bold, be proud, be yourself,’ announcing that all male crew now allowed to paint their fingernails, wear mascara and carry purses during flights.
UK national flag carrier’s male pilots and cabin crew were told that they can wear ‘a touch of mascara and lip color’ as well as falsies (fake eyelashes) and paint their fingernails.
All BA crew now also allowed more hairdo options, with male employees permitted ‘man buns.’
All the crew, regardless of gender, will also be allowed to carry handbags.
While announcing a major overhaul of its strict uniform rules, British Airways declared that the new guidance would be “embraced by everyone regardless of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, background, culture, sexual identity, or otherwise.”
According to the airlines’ spokesperson, British flag carrier is ‘committed to an inclusive working environment,’ and that its new guidelines for grooming, beauty, and accessories will allow employees to ‘bring the best, most authentic version of themselves to work every day.’
BA’s radical change comes in the wake of other major UK carrier, Virgin Atlantic, making their flight crew uniforms ‘gender-neutral.’
Virgin Atlantic, completely removed gendered clothing requirements, allowing male workers to wear skirts and make-up, and introducing pronoun badges for staff to be able to ‘wear uniforms that express their true identity.’
British Airways, along with many other legacy airlines, have been moving away from traditional gender divisions for quite some time now, even dropping its signature ‘ladies and gentlemen’ from inflight announcements, in an attempt to make ‘all passengers feel welcome.’
BA is sticking with its traditional male and female uniforms and its visible tattoo ban though, at least for now.
Several airlines around the world have also adjusted their personal appearance guidelines lately, with Russian S7, Latvian AirBaltic, and Air New Zealand allowing flight crew to have visible tattoos, piercings, bright-colored hair and beards.
Many airline customers were quite skeptical about those ‘inclusivity’ updates, though, rightly pointing that the air carriers should really focus on improving the flight experience for their passengers instead.
(eTN): British Airways allows nail polish, makeup and purses for male crew | re-post license | post content
