Summary United Airlines defends flight attendants' right to wear flag pins representing their pride, including Palestine. StopAntisemitism condemns airlines for allowing staff to wear divisive political symbols. Delta had a similar incident last month, ultimately changing its policy to only allow USA flag pins.
United Airlines has released a statement following complaints about one of its flight attendants wearing a Palestinian flag pin while on duty. The airline cited its policy that allows flight crew to wear flag pins "that represent their pride." United defends flight attendant with Palestine pin As first reported by The New York Post , a United Airlines flight attendant working on a flight from Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) to Newark Liberty International (EWR) on Tuesday had a Palestine flag pin below her name tag, as well as a neckstrap in the pattern of a keffiyeh, a traditional Arabic headdress.
A passenger onboard the United flight notified Jewish civil rights group StopAntisemitism, which has since condemned the carrier for allowing its employees to display "divisive political symbols." StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez said, "[We are] alarmed by the rising trend of US airline employees displaying Palestinian flags and keffiyehs while on duty. There are no flights to Palestine.
" United Airlines has since released a statement defending its crew's right to wear flag pins. It first cited its policy of encouraging national flag pins "to designate specific language skills," essentially helping non-English speaking passengers find a member of the crew who speaks their preferred language. The statement then added that United " also allows flight attendants to wear flag pins that represent their pride in a place to which they may have a special connection .
" It's worth noting that the flight attendant had a literal 'Pride' rainbow flag, commonly worn to display solidarity with the LGBT community. Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying. Last year, the airline also changed its uniform policy to allow staff to display their pronouns, saying it supported its staff "identifying in the way that feels most true to themselves.
" Within the past few years, it has also allowed its cabin crew to have visible tattoos, nail polish, and makeup, regardless of gender. A different response than Delta's This incident is similar to what Delta Air Lines went through last month when two of its flight attendants were called out for wearing Palestine flag pins - Delta ended up firing one of its social media staff for agreeing with a post equating the badges to supporting Hamas. It then changed its uniform policy so that staff could only wear USA flag pins, stating the move would " help ensure a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for all .
" The airline landed in hot water for one of its social media posts recently. Activist group StopAntisemitism has also criticized Spirit Airlines for allowing its staff to wear "Palestinian insignia." However, United appears to be standing firm and will continue to allow its staff to wear flag pins of their choosing out of "pride.
" While crew uniform and appearance requirements have gotten less strict over the years, the airline is certainly courting controversy by allowing politically leaning fashion statements. Simple Flying has reached out to United Airlines for comment and will update this story accordingly..
