Holiday makers have praised one of the UKs biggest airlines for making an important policy update for its tattooed employees. Virgin Atlantic have gone viral on TikTok after making the announcement.
The long-haul airline has revealed that their cabin crew will now be able to show off their tattoos in a huge policy change. They were previously forced to cover them up, denying those who couldn’t hide their ink a job on board.
In a video shared on social media, three employees from Sir Richard Branson’s airline wrote: “Introducing our uniform policy update. Wear your tattoos with pride.”
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Covered up employed switched from long to short sleeves in the clip, which has racked up more than 2.6 million views in 24 hours. The three staff members all showed off tattooed arms with beaming smiles on their faces.
The previous policy meant that employees had to cover up any visible tattoo with a long sleeved shirt, plasters or make up. Short sleeve shirts are uniform standard so a special long sleeved shirt had to be requested.
Customers have welcomed the new policy, with @hannahedob writing: “Loveeee this! Tattoos do not affect someone’s ability to do their job.”
Some commenters previously wanted roles as cabin crew but couldn’t because of their tattoos. @daniellestarbrooke said: “I was denied a job on a desk in the airport because I have a tiny pattern on my hand. Absolutely love this tbh.” @lussysmiles added: “Omg, that’s amazing. Cabin crew used to be my dream job but nobody was ever accepting tattoos. This is amazing news.”
And @traya.joy wrote: “What an awesome talking point this would be. I’m a nervous flyer but having a chat with a crew member about their tats would probably help calm me down.”
As part of the new policy, neck, face and head tattoos must still be covered, but this restriction is currently under review and the airline may change this policy, which has already been welcomed by air crew.
Estelle Hollingsworth, chief people officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “At Virgin Atlantic, we want everyone to be themselves and know that they belong. Many people use tattoos to express their unique identities and our customer-facing and uniformed colleagues should not be excluded from doing so if they choose.
"That's why, in line with our focus on inclusion and championing individuality, we're relaxing our tattoo restrictions for all our people. We're proud to be the airline that sees the world differently and allows our people to truly be themselves.”
Virgin Atlantic was one of the first carriers to ease strict makeup rules for cabin crew. Female staff were forced to wear makeup on duty until 2019, when it scrapped the rule, and also allowed them to wear trousers instead of a skirt on duty.
Later this week, Virgin Atlantic announced will open up its cabin crew recruitment once more. In January, the airline received 5,000 applications for 400 roles and it is now expecting to recruit another 300 as demand for air travel returns.
