A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600
Breaking News! Virgin Atlantic, the first UK airline to allow their cabin crew to show off their tattoos!
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew are permitted with effect from May 31, 2022 to display their tattoos to ‘encourage staff to be themselves’ and ‘champion individuality’ according to its chief People Officer, Estelle Hollingsworth. ‘We’ve always encouraged our people to be themselves, so from today, they can now show off their tattoos with pride.’
Yes, they may use tattoos to express their unique identities, however, according to the airline, neck, face and head tattoos must still be covered.
In the past, the policies for most airlines were that cabin crew should not have tattoos in visible areas whilst wearing their uniforms. They will not hire someone if they have any visible tattoos as they want them to look alike and to maintain a professional image.
In Japan and Vietnam, tattoos carry a negative stigma. In the Middle Eastern countries, tattoos are forbidden in their religion. As such, many airlines prefer to hire cabin crew without visible taboos to avoid offending their passengers.
In one Middle Eastern airline, one fellow cabin crew narrated that in a recruitment event, her partner who put make up over her wrist tattoo was almost through on her final interview when the assessor saw a tiny bit of make up had faded off. She was shouted at in front of all the other candidates and sent home straight away. She cried and begged to be given another chance but it was in vain.
What about tattoos on pilots?
Many aspiring pilots have asked me this besides the other information on recruitment requirements.
Well, generally airline pilots can have tattoos but they should not be visible.
In the early days, they were highly discouraged and were often frowned upon. As such, they could prevent an aspiring pilot from getting a job.
While having a tattoo does not in any way affect a pilot’s ability to fly a plane, it’s seen as unprofessional by some people.
According to a 2019 poll, 30% of Americans, regardless of age have at least one tattoo and the majority of them are happy with it whilst others do have regrets over the body art.
In fact, I in 4 people who made a spontaneous decision to get a tattoo regretted over it within a few days.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that some people still love tattoos. They do it to get attention whilst other see them as self-expression, artistic freedom, a visual display of a personal narrative or a reminder of a cultural tradition.
Tattoos can cause skin infections or allergic skin reactions leading to an itchy rash at the affected site.
Remember, tattoos can last a lifetime but some do fade over time. Sometimes you may choose a wrong design or your feeling may change but not the tattoos.
For those with tattoo regret, you can still remove them surgically or by laser surgery which can be more expensive than the original tattooing.
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