Air France Staff Win The Right To Opt Out Of Iran Flights

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: April 4, 2016

20 comments

Yesterday morning I wrote about Air France restarting flights between Paris and Tehran this month, and the trouble it was causing with their unions. In Iran women are required to wear headscarves, so Air France staff were told they’d have to cover up as soon as they deplaned in Tehran

Air France’s union took issue with this, and requested that the route be staffed voluntarily, in the sense that female flight attendants and pilots could opt to not work the route. They said they weren’t passing judgment on Iran’s policies, but rather that forcing staff to work these flights restricted their individual liberties.

Meanwhile Air France’s management argued that French law allows for the restriction of individual liberties if it’s justified by the nature of the task to be accomplished, which they argued was the case here. That reminded me a bit of the lawsuit a while back from a Muslim flight attendants who didn’t want to serve alcohol.

Well, it seems like Air France management and the unions have come to a quick agreement. Or more precisely, Air France management has given into the union’s demands. Per Reuters, Air France’s Paris to Tehran flight will be voluntarily staffed, meaning female crews can opt out of operating the service:

Air France said it would allow female cabin crew and pilots to opt out of flying routes to Tehran after some staff said they did not want to be forced to cover their hair when in Iran.

Air France, part of the Franco-Dutch group Air France-KLM, is preparing to restart flights to Tehran from April 17 after an eight-year hiatus due to sanctions.

After a meeting between Air France management and unions on Monday, the French carrier said it would offer female staff the choice of opting out of the flights.

I’m curious to see if other airlines’ unions now raise similar concerns and follow in Air France’s footsteps. The Reuters article quotes spokespeople from British Airways and Lufthansa regarding their policies:

A spokeswoman for British Airways, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group, which is planning to restart flights to Iran from Heathrow on July 14, said it would make recommendations to its crew nearer the time.

Germany’s Lufthansa, which continued to fly to Tehran throughout the sanctions, said it had not experienced any problems and that crew followed the rules to cover up when in public spaces.

Nicoley Baublies, head of Lufthansa’s main cabin crew union, said some crew members had raised concerns, but not to the extent seen at Air France.

Air-France-777

Bottom line

Personally I’d love to visit Iran, though I realize the perception from many is that it isn’t safe. I’m curious to see how many Air France employees end up opting out of this Tehran flight, either because of the requirement to cover up, or more likely because they simply don’t want to fly to Iran.

While women will have the ability to opt out if they so choose, male staff (a significant number of which are openly gay), will be forced to work these flights instead. Of course this is all a slippery slope, but…

Do you think Air France made the right decision here, and do you think other airlines will follow?

(Tip of the hat to View from the Wing)

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Bob Guest

April 5, 2016, 9:30 am

@Joey AF is already overstaffed with around 300 or 400 equivalent full time cabin crew every month. AF has not recruited for almost 10 years now. And probably have no additional needs for the next 10 years. I will be surprised a IKA base crew is created. But who knows?

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Davy Guest

April 5, 2016, 8:10 am

Let's just face it that the bottom line of the employers is the profit and pleasing their board and share holders. No employee is indispensable - the company will still survive. And if they dont get the airline based country citizens to do the job, they will look into the povery ridden developing and third world and hire there and likely pay these people less than is the minimum wage. Good for the union for standing up for their members. And if a gay man from a poor resourced nation gets tortured or put to death for their sexuality...no doubt it wont even make news in the west since life is cheap when one is poor

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Z Guest

April 5, 2016, 7:45 am

Ironically, my only direct encounter with a gay male was in Isfahan, where a stranger (Iranian) asked me if I were gay, would I be interested in hanging out more with him...

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Kyle Guest

April 5, 2016, 5:08 am

Who cares if the make staff are gay? It makes no difference here - they're not planning on having sex on the streets are they?! If they start refusing flights too, soon, gays won't be hired as they would need people willing to fly to Tehran, Dubai etc.

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Moodz Member

April 5, 2016, 3:44 am

Long gone are the days when Air France flight attendants used to suntan by the pool of the Intercontinental Hotel in Tehran, sipping Iranian wine. Post-revolutionary Iran is definitely a much less liberal place (especially in terms of personal freedoms), but it's not as terrible as some of the comments above and in previous posts have made out to be. Why? I'm Iranian myself, and while I don't necessarily agree with the current situation in Iran, there is something that non-Iranians will not understand: Iranian hospitality. The concept of the 'guest', especially those from overseas deems a foreigner as someone who should be protected and more respected. Yes, foreign women are required to cover their hair and dress 'modestly', but failure to do so will result in a request to cover, rather than a beating or jailing, as some of you probably imagine. Present day Iran has neither the revolutionary zeal that led to the US embassy hostage taking, nor has the stomach to be isolated in the world any longer. Most Iranians are fully aware that nations such as the UAE and Qatar which they deemed as regional backwaters prior to the 1979 revolution have now surpassed Iran economically. Think about it: Iran Air itself is not only older than Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airways, but actually older than the UAE and Qatar! This is not an easy pill to swallow for Iranians, and they are ready to engage the world once again. In addition, most Iranians are not Arabs, so Iran is not an Arab nation where 'abayas', 'niqabs', etc. are mandated by law. I'd go so far as to say that if you go to Tehran (where Air France will fly into and not some conservative provincial airport), and dress in an abaya, you'd be mistaken for an Arab visitor from the southern shores of the Persian Gulf. As for gay people: As long as they don't announce their sexual orientation, or show affection in public, no one will say anything - Iranian politeness prevents that. In the end, I think until the negative image of Iran is changed, Air France was right to allow their flight attendants to opt out of flying into Iran. However, I think the time is ripe to visit Iran now: To help the ordinary people engage with the world, rather than isolate them, which is exactly what the hardliners in (and out of) the country want. @Lucky et al: Do visit Iran. You will all be pleasantly surprised.

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