Virgin’s easing of its policy on employees displaying tattoos marks a significant shift in an industry that has long had strict criteria on who is suitable to be cabin crew and how they should look. In the early days, flight attendants were often the sons of businessmen who had financed the airlines. A story in the New York Times in 1936 said women were selected based on their physical characteristics. The UK government’s National Careers Service says: “There are rules about height and weight – these vary between airlines. In 2016, a US poll found that 29% of people had a tattoo, up from 21% four years before.

Source: The Guardian June 01, 2022 00:07 UTC