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SINGAPORE: A Chinese domestic airline’s recent move to ditch a high-heel mandate for cabin crew has gone viral in China, garnering praise and sparking calls for more airlines to follow suit.
Hunan province-based carrier Air Travel, known as Hunan Airlines locally, revealed in a WeChat notice last Monday (Aug 5) that since the start of the month, its female flight attendants have been allowed to wear flats while working.
“Flight attendants are allowed to skip high heels during all of their duties, including boarding and using passenger lifts and jet bridges,” an Air Travel spokesperson told local news outlet The Paper.
It’s the first Chinese domestic airline to completely scrap this requirement, according to local news reports.
According to another domestic news site Sixth Tone, Air Travel previously required flight attendants to wear high heels before and after flights. They were allowed to change into flat shoes while inside the aircraft for safety reasons.
In its notice, the airline acknowledged that high heels can make flight attendants “look more upright and elegant”, elevating their professional image.
At the same time, it pointed out that they can be physically uncomfortable, especially when standing or walking for extended durations.
“While high heels may display a woman’s confidence and pride, the stability and security provided by flat shoes is indispensable,” the airline noted.
Air Travel said that allowing cabin crew to wear flats not only reflects “professional needs”, but also shows responsibility for personal and passenger safety. It added that the move was made after “weighing the relationship between professional image, cabin safety and employee health”.
The announcement has since gone viral, becoming a trending topic on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.
The hashtag “Hunan Airlines’ female flight attendants no longer need to wear high heels at work” had garnered more than 55 million views as of Tuesday.
A Weibo post on the report by Hangzhou-based news site dushikuaibao has received more than 57,000 likes, with many comments praising Air Travel’s uniform policy change.
“(I) support ditching high heels for flight attendants, high heels are shackles for the feet!” goes one comment which has garnered 11,000 likes.
Another comment, which has more than 9,100 likes, states: “Actually, it would be most suitable for flight attendants to wear flat shoes and trousers for their jobs.”
While lauding the move, many users also agreed that more airlines in China should do away entirely with the high-heel requirement for female cabin crew.
“Hunan Airlines did it, hopefully it becomes more widespread!” stated a Weibo post which received more than 13,000 likes.
Beyond footwear, some Weibo users also suggested tweaks to the uniforms for female cabin crew – for instance, replacing skirts with full-length trousers for ease of movement while working.
While Air Travel is reportedly the first domestic airline to completely do away with the high-heel policy, it isn’t the only local carrier that has relaxed uniform policies.
According to The Paper, Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines mandated last year that female flight attendants wear flats during boarding and in the cabin for consistency. They can opt for either flats or high heels before boarding. The report did not state when exactly in 2023 the rule took effect.
Similarly, low-cost carrier Spring Airlines has been providing flight attendants black flats to change into after boarding the aircraft, The Paper reported. Spring Airlines did not specify when this measure was implemented, only stating that it’s aimed at reducing the risk of injury during turbulence.
Even as Chinese airlines take steps forward, several carriers around the world have already done away with high-heel mandates for their female flight attendants.
Australian airline Qantas ditched high heels for flats in 2023, while in 2021, Ukrainian low-cost carrier SkyUp Airlines swapped out heels and pencil skirts for white Nike sneakers and suits.
In 2020, Japan Airlines announced that its female flight attendants would no longer be required to wear high heels or skirts, The Guardian reported.
They would be able to choose footwear that “best fits their needs” and swap their skirts for trousers, in a move intended to create a “diverse working environment”, the carrier said at the time.
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