Australia's Qantas airline allows crew to ditch high heels, scraps gender-based makeup norms

Australian airline Qantas has come up with a new set of guidelines for its employees regarding grooming and styling. From now onwards, Qantas staff, including cabin crew, can opt for flats instead of high heels, choose to wear makeup regardless of their gender and grow their hair as long as they want provided it is in a ponytail or a bun.

According to a representative from Qantas, the airline has overhauled its guidelines to better reflect modern expectations.

"The update doesn’t change our uniform but modernises the way employees wear it in line with employee feedback and evolving customer expectations," CNN reported citing a representative from Qantas.

The new guidelines are also applicable to the company's low-cost airline Jetstar.

The changes came at the insistence of labour unions, who urged Qantas to scrap rules such as the requirement that female staff wear make-up, said an AFP report. "Fashions change, and so have our style guidelines over the years," the airline said in a statement.

It said that these changes will make wearing uniform more comfortable and practical for all -- including those with a wide range of body types and those from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Under the new guidelines, diamond earrings are also allowed, while strict rules governing the size and style of watches have been dumped. Employees will have the choice of whether to wear makeup or not, although tattoos still need to be concealed.

Crew members who opt to wear dresses or skirts will be required to wear hosiery.

(With inputs from agencies)

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