By the end of the summer, more than 30,000 staff will be wearing the airline’s new uniform.
British Airways has just unveiled its new uniform, which the carrier says is its first revamp in close to 20 years.
Courtesy of British Airways
By the end of summer, more than 30,000 staff will be wearing the uniform, it said Friday. Engineers and ground-operation agents will switch from spring, while cabin crew, pilots, and check-in agents will start wearing it in the summer.
Courtesy of British Airways
The new uniform includes a jumpsuit for women
Courtesy of British Airways
… as well as a hijab and tunic option. Men will also be able to pick regular or slim trousers.
Courtesy of British Airways
Some items, including jackets, t-shirts, buttons, and ties, feature an airwave pattern “inspired by the movement of air over an aircraft wing,” British Airways said.
Courtesy of British Airways
British Airways said designer Ozwald Boateng started developing the collection in 2018 “with painstaking care.” Throughout the process he took feedback from more than 1,500 staff, including testing whether items are easy to care for and resilient to extreme weather.
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Engineers, for example, asked for easy-access tool pockets for when they’re working on aircraft, while ground handlers asked for touch-screen technology fabric in their gloves for use in cold weather. British Airways also widened the pockets on cabin crew’s aprons so that they had more storage space, following feedback on prototypes.
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More than 90% of the garments are produced using sustainable fabric from blends of recycled polyester, British Airways said.
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Old uniforms will be donated to charity, recycled, or given to the airline’s museum, the carrier said.

British Airways staff in 2019, wearing the current uniform.
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British Airways’ announcement comes as other airlines revamp their uniforms to become more inclusive, breaking away from the industry’s history of strict dress codes like a ban on tattoos and certain piercings. Virgin Atlantic in September removed the requirement for staff to wear gendered uniform, and British Airways said in November that all employees could wear mascara, false eyelashes, and earrings.
Courtesy of Virgin Atlantic
Source: Virgin Atlantic, Insider