Flight attendants for South Korea's Asiana Airlines have won a long-winded fight against the airline's skirts-only dress code for females.
Asiana will add a pants option to the uniform next month.
The South Korean National Human Rights Commission deemed the dress code, which includes rules against wearing glasses with a uniform, no more than two bobby pins, and constantly manicured nails-discriminatory, ending the debate that first arose last year.
In a CNN article from March 2012, Min Man-ki of Asiana Airlines explained that the uniform's design was based on a traditional Korean dress called hanbok.
"Women didn't wear pants traditionally when they wore hanbok," he said. "The regulations are simply guidelines that should be followed when wearing our uniform. The flight attendants won't be punished...if they don't. We cannot expect flight attendants to wear track suits and sneakers just for safety."
Flight attendants expressed their grievances and discomfort, one saying that the skirt can often become a hazard.
"There are many cases when we have to stand up or sit down in front of our passengers," member of the crew, who declined to provide her name, said. "[This] makes it not only uncomfortable, but also sometimes dangerous."
Head of the flight attendant union Kweon Soo-jeong said the most important issue at hand is one of freedom of choice.
"We understand that we have a certain image to pursue," Soo-jeong said, "but we believe that the most important function of our uniform is to assist our passengers...give us a chance to choose and update outdated regulations."
And they will be given the chance, as the new uniforms are currently being designed. Asiana will debut the pant option in a few weeks.
Asiana has a long history of being an accommodating airline. They won World's Best Cabin Staff Award at the 2011 World Airline Awards.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
