Air France's Female Flight Attendants Exempted from Iran Flights

On Tuesday, April 5, Air France decided to allow its female flight attendants to opt out of flights to Iran if they do not wish to wear a headscarf. The management of Air France met with members of the airline's staff union, who were concerned that the refusal of female attendants to participate in flights to Iran could lead to punishment. According to the Associated Press, Air France decided to make exceptions for employees who do not want to work on the Paris-Tehran route and will replace them on other flights without penalty. Gilles Gato, head of Air France's administrative department, announced this news in an interview with Radio Europe 1. The airline is set to resume its weekly flights between Tehran and Paris starting April 17. These flights were suspended in 2008 due to international sanctions against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. The Air France staff union stated that according to a memo sent by the company's management, female attendants must cover their hair with a headscarf when exiting the aircraft and entering Tehran, and wear trousers and a coat instead of a skirt. This decision faced protests from female flight attendants. The union, which has been negotiating with the head of Air France's administration, noted that the condition to refuse flights was previously established for some routes to Conakry, Guinea during the Ebola crisis last year and for flights to Tokyo during the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Currently, wearing a headscarf is mandatory on some Air France flights to other countries, including Saudi Arabia. In this context, the protests of female Air France flight attendants against compulsory hijab in Iran are significant.