"‘Tight Skirts and High Heels Are Uncomfortable’ - Can Female Flight Attendants' Uniforms Change?"

Ukrainian Airline Changes Female Flight Attendants' Uniforms
"We Realized Female Flight Attendants Shouldn't Appear Sexualized"
Will This Affect Domestic Airlines' Female Flight Attendants' Uniforms?

'Skyup' replaces high heels, skirts, and blouses in female flight attendants' uniforms with sneakers, loose orange jackets, and pants. Photo by Official Instagram Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Can't we just change it?", "It looks like sexual objectification.", "It would be better if they could just wear pants."

Recently, as a Ukrainian airline changed the dress code for its female flight attendants, attention has turned to the uniforms of domestic flight attendants. Female flight attendants in the aviation industry have long suffered great discomfort from wearing tight clothing during long flights. In addition, concerns about sexual harassment and other sexual crimes have raised calls for changing the uniforms.

On the 2nd (local time), according to the British public broadcaster BBC, the Ukrainian low-cost airline 'SkyUp' plans to change the existing uniforms of its female flight attendants starting next month.

According to reports, SkyUp decided to eliminate high heels, skirts, and blouses, and instead introduce sneakers with loose orange jackets and pants. However, the regulation mandating makeup remains unchanged.

This decision was made by actively reflecting the opinions of the flight attendants. The airline conducted an internal survey among its flight attendants and found that female attendants were dissatisfied with tight blouses, skirts, and high heels, and took steps to correct this.

Mariana Grigorashi, SkyUp's Chief Marketing Officer, explained, "The job of a flight attendant is not that romantic and is tough," adding, "We realized that female flight attendants do not want to be seen in a sexualized or playful manner."

As news spread about the radical change from the traditional female flight attendant uniform of skirts and high heels, there is growing interest in whether this will influence the uniforms of female flight attendants in Korea. Female flight attendants here have fought for uniforms that allow them to focus on their work rather than wearing skirts, even filing complaints with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK).

Previously, in 2012, the labor union of Airline A filed a complaint with the NHRCK regarding dress code regulations, and in February 2013, the NHRCK recommended allowing pants as an option for uniforms.

The NHRCK stated, "Prohibiting female flight attendants from wearing pants and regulating detailed aspects of appearance to demand uniformity presupposes normative images of women as 'beautiful' and 'neat' and as service providers, which contains sexist implications and risks reinforcing prejudices and biased stereotypes emphasizing femininity over the general role of flight attendants."

It added, "The perception that skirts induce tension, leading to more attentive posture and beautiful demeanor, reflects a view of flight attendants' uniforms focusing on customer service rather than safety, and understanding female flight attendants' fixed external image as an essential element of service, which embodies a sexist perspective on their overall duties." Subsequently, Airline A accepted the NHRCK's recommendation and provided pants uniforms. Other airlines also introduced pants uniforms.

A flight attendant of a Chinese airline working while wearing a mask and disposable gloves. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, since the NHRCK's recommendation is not mandatory, skirt-wearing has effectively remained unchanged. In October 2018, a flight attendant from one airline criticized at a National Assembly audit that skirts are unsuitable for the cabin work environment and contribute to the sexual objectification of women. This shows that the NHRCK's recommendation has not been properly implemented in the industry.

The flight attendant pointed out, "The existing uniforms are completely unsuitable for the cabin environment and give an image of sexual objectification," adding, "I understand that incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and hidden camera filming in the cabin have increased due to the uniforms." She also added, "When helping passengers with their luggage, the blouse rides up, exposing the waist, which is embarrassing."

Citizens express opinions that there is no problem with flight attendants wearing pants instead of skirts. A 20-year-old university student B said, "I don't think flight attendants need to wear only skirts," adding, "I hope they can have the freedom to wear pants and, above all, be allowed to wear sneakers."

A 30-year-old office worker B said, "I know that in other countries, uniforms are being changed more freely; I wonder if Korea could do the same." Meanwhile, a 40-year-old office worker C said, "There is a lot of sexual harassment against flight attendants; maybe it would decrease if they wore pants instead of skirts."

Sexual crimes against flight attendants can also be confirmed through statistics. On the 5th, So Byung-hoon, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party, analyzed the 'Crime Occurrence Status Against Cabin Crew' submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and found that a total of 235 crimes against cabin crew occurred over the past six years from 2016 to the end of July this year.

By type of crime, verbal abuse ranked first with 147 cases, followed by sexual assault with 47 cases, and physical assault with 41 cases. Yearly, there were 54 cases in 2016, decreasing to 44 in 2017, then increasing again to 66 in 2018 and 50 in 2019. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, the numbers dropped to 12 in 2020 and 9 in 2021.

By airline, the numbers were highest for Korean Air (104 cases), followed by Asiana Airlines (47 cases), Jin Air (30 cases), Jeju Air (27 cases), T'way Air (27 cases), and Air Busan (4 cases).

Meanwhile, some overseas airlines are changing their dress codes. British Virgin Atlantic abolished the makeup mandate for flight attendants. Japan Airlines eliminated the mandatory wearing of high heels and offered the option to wear pants instead of skirts. Norwegian Air also allows flat shoes and abolished mandatory in-flight makeup requirements.