How air travel has changed in every decade from the 1920s to today
Commercial air travel boomed through the 1950s and, for the first time in history, more US passengers were travelling by air than train. The ...
ditched gender-specific uniforms
Cabin crew requirements have changed over the decades; as we've seen already, the 1930s followed strict rules regarding age, height and weight, and since then tailored uniforms and specific hairstyles became the norm. But the 2020s have welcomed a more relaxed approach and in September 2022 Virgin Atlantic <anchor>ditched gender-specific uniforms</anchor> allowing crew, pilots and ground staff to choose whichever they feel most comfortable in. Earlier in the year staff were also permitted to keep their tattoos visible, marking the first UK airline to do so.
Virgin Atlantic staff can choose which uniform to wear ‘no matter their gender’ | Virgin Atlantic | The Guardian
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![Virgin Atlantic crew member on a red carpet](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f3a0ab34e0fabe38e663e8711153adea089b1e44/0_148_7386_4433/master/7386.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none)

Virgin Atlantic’s crew, pilots and ground staff can now wear whichever of its uniforms they feel most comfortable in. Photograph: Ben Queenborough

[View image in fullscreen](#img-1)

Virgin Atlantic’s crew, pilots and ground staff can now wear whichever of its uniforms they feel most comfortable in. Photograph: Ben Queenborough

[Virgin Atlantic](https://www.theguardian.com/business/virginatlantic)

This article is more than **1 year old**

# Virgin Atlantic staff can choose which uniform to wear ‘no matter their gender’

This article is more than 1 year old

Airline reflects diversity of workforce with policy on its Vivienne Westwood-designed outfits

[Gwyn Topham](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/gwyntopham) Transport correspondent

Wed 28 Sep 2022 06.36 EDTFirst published on Wed 28 Sep 2022 04.37 EDT

[Share](mailto:?subject=Virgin Atlantic staff can choose which uniform to wear ‘no matter their gender’&body=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/28/virgin-atlantic-staff-can-choose-which-uniform-to-wear-no-matter-their-gender?CMP=share_btn_url)

Virgin Atlantic’s crew, pilots and ground staff can now wear whichever of its uniforms they feel most comfortable in, regardless of the original male or female design of its red skirt suit or burgundy trousers.

The airline has announced a gender identity policy that lets its staff choose which of the Vivienne Westwood-designed outfits they wear to work – “no matter their gender, gender identity or gender expression”.

Virgin said the move was to reflect the diversity of the workforce, and to reinforce its branding campaign as welcoming and inclusive, after recent moves to [relax rules on visible tattoos](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/31/virgin-atlantic-allows-cabin-crew-to-display-tattoos).

The airline will also start using optional pronoun badges for crew and passengers, who can request them at check-in to ensure people use their preferred pronouns. Its ticketing systems will also allow people whose passports have gender neutral markers – available in the US, India and Pakistan – to travel using those gender codes and the title Mx.

Virgin will also start mandatory inclusivity training, and initiatives for hotels in destinations such as the Caribbean, where some people have faced more barriers.

Juha Järvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s chief commercial officer, said: “It’s so important that we enable our people to embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work. It is for that reason that we want to allow our people to wear the uniform that best suits them and how they identify and ensure our customers are addressed by their preferred pronouns.”

![Michelle Visage (third from right), with other Virgin Atlantic crew members.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/455ed51f51b56f6d6e6f8ec9bfb6066604ad4def/144_683_7177_4305/master/7177.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none)[View image in fullscreen](#img-2)

Michelle Visage (third from right), with Virgin Atlantic crew members. Photograph: Ben Queenborough

Virgin brought in Michelle Visage, one of the judges on the hit reality TV show Ru Paul’s Drag Race, to promote its policy. Visage said the initiative was important to her personally, saying: “People feel empowered when they are wearing what best represents them, and this gender identity policy allows people to embrace who they are.”

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The airline was one of the first to [relax rules on makeup](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/04/virgin-atlantic-drops-mandatory-makeup-for-female-cabin-crew) in an industry where crew often have to follow stringent guidelines on appearance.

Explore more on these topics

- [Virgin Atlantic](/business/virginatlantic)
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- [Gender](/world/gender)
- [Vivienne Westwood](/fashion/vivienne-westwood)
- [news](/tone/news)

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![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/9a20ffdda98b5b13db0ca579954c50ad46ae701c/0_160_3000_1799/master/3000.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none)













### Vivienne Westwood did the most unfashionable of things – she made clothes for real women’s bodies



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### Dame Vivienne Westwood: fashion designer dies aged 81



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### Remembering Vivienne Westwood: ‘The rebel who was never without a cause’



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