Singapore Airlines flight attendants will no longer be forced out of the company if they become pregnant, according to reports.
For decades the Asian airline had effectively terminated cabin crew member's contracts when they're expecting, a policy which has long been criticised.
Now flight attendants can apply for ground position and then return to the air once they've given birth, the Straits Times reports.
The move means the company's policy is similar to that of other international airlines.
Before the move - which reportedly came into force in July - pregnant crew were placed on no-pay leave.
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They were then forced to leave the company the day after they submit their child’s birth certificate.
To get their job back and return to the skies, mums had to apply to the airline again via a returning crew scheme, which did not guarantee re-employment.
Singapore Airlines has said that those pregnant women who have applied for a ground job had been able to find positions without issues.
Now crew members are placed on up to 16 weeks of maternity leave after they have given birth before automatically being rostered to fly again.
If the crew’s contract expires during her pregnancy, she will be offered a one-year contract renewal, the company has said.
Association of Women for Action and Research executive director Corinna Lim has long lobbied for the change.
She questioned whether other requirements might stop new mums from getting back to work.
“Are there other rules, explicit or implicit, that will bar post-partum mothers from flying for SIA, such as requirement on physique?" she told Straits Times.
"Losing baby weight takes time, usually six to 12 months.”
The airline said that it maintains "the same grooming standards for all cabin crew" when asked about this point.
The Mirror has contacted easyJet, Ryanair and British Airlines for information regarding their policy on pregnant flight attendants.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: "Once a crew member informs the business they are pregnant we find them a ground based role throughout their pregnancy.
"They then have the standard maternity leave as the rest of the business. They can have up to a year off before they return to the skies."
In 2001 BA was made to pay millions of pounds in back pay to a group of more than 500 flight attendants who were prohibited from working on flights while pregnant, the Independent reported.
This followed an employment tribunal which found the airline guilty of sex discrimination in 1998.
Singapore Airlines has been contacted for comment.
