United Airlines will continue to allow flight attendants and other customer-facing employees to wear Palestinian flag pins on their uniforms, despite the airline drawing fierce criticism from a prominent anti-Semitism lobby group that has called the controversial pins “divisive.”
The Chicago-based airline was sharply criticized by the group StopAntisemitism after a flight attendant was spotted wearing a Palestinian flag pin on a recent flight from its O’Hare hub. But United is refusing to back down and is standing firm on its uniform policy.
On Wednesday, the airline said it would continue to allow its employees, including flight attendants and gate agents, to wear pins featuring the flag. These pins either represent a language they speak or symbolize “pride in a place they may have a special connection to.”
“StopAntisemitism is concerned about the growing trend among U.S. airline employees to display Palestinian flags and Palestinian scarves while at work,” criticized the group’s founder, Liora Rez, after photos emerged showing a United flight attendant on a flight to Newark with the Palestinian flag.
“Political viewpoints belong outside of work hours. Airlines must ensure that passengers are not confronted with divisive symbols in what is supposed to be a neutral space,” Rez continued.
United’s stance stands in stark contrast to the way JetBlue and Delta Air Lines responded to allegations of anti-Semitism after their employees were spotted wearing Palestinian flag pins.
In May, JetBlue hastily revised its uniform policy, banning employees from wearing pins bearing the flag of any state, country or territory currently served by the airline, following an altercation between a Jewish passenger and a flight attendant.
Paul Faust, 54, says a return JetBlue flight was canceled by the airline after he told a flight attendant wearing a “Free Palestine” badge that he found the message disturbing.
Following the uproar caused by this incident, JetBlue said it had “urgently” conducted a review of uniforms, which resulted in a de facto ban on pins bearing the Palestinian flag.
Last month, Delta faced criticism from the Flight Attendants Association (AFA-CWA) after the airline banned its crew members from wearing pins featuring the Palestinian flag despite public pressure and accusations of anti-Semitism.
In order not to single out any single country or territory, Delta decided to prohibit flight attendants from wearing pins featuring any flag except the U.S. flag.
However, flight attendants expressed dismay that they can no longer display their language skills by wearing flag pins on their uniforms.
In a statement, United explained its current flag pin policy: “Our uniform policy has long included the option for flight attendants to wear flag pins to indicate certain language skills, so our customers who feel more comfortable speaking a language other than English know who on our crew speaks their preferred language.”
The statement continued: “We also allow flight attendants to wear flag pins that express their pride in a place to which they may have a special connection.”
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