Reuters/Berlin


Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline have defended their policies on pregnancy and marriage for cabin crew.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is running a campaign against Qatar Airways over some of its employment rules related to women.
A Swedish newspaper last year published a report targeting Qatar Airways.
At the ITB travel fair in Berlin, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al-Baker reacted furiously to questions about the article and said people were attacking Qatar because it had won the right to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Treatment of migrant workers helping build facilities for the World Cup in Qatar has been highlighted by a section of the Western media recently.
“All this was a big sensational (effort) to target my country because of 2022, saying people have no human rights. It is not true,” al-Baker told reporters.
Qatar Airways contracts forbid members of the cabin crew, the vast majority of whom are female, from marrying during the first five years of their employment with the firm.
“You know they have come there to do a job and we make sure that they are doing a job, that they give us a good return on our investment,” al-Baker said.
He said because local regulations prevented pregnant cabin crew from flying and the company did not have many ground jobs available for them, pregnant women must often leave.
“We are not in the business where we can guarantee ground jobs or let people stay away ... and don’t do anything for the airline,” he said.
Cabin crew across the world may not work on board airplanes once pregnant due to health concerns, although some countries allow them to work for up to three months into the pregnancy.
Most airlines then find them work on the ground or put them on maternity leave. In Europe, pregnant women are protected from being fired or made redundant.
Emirates said it has a policy whereby female cabin crew that become pregnant in the first three years have to leave.
“If you are hired by Emirates as a cabin crew, during the first three years we expect from you to fly,” chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori said.
Cabin crew who have been employed for more than three years have the option of taking paid maternity leave.
Antinori and al-Baker highlighted the other benefits offered to employees, such as tax-free income and paid-for accommodation. Antinori, a French native who previously worked for German carrier Lufthansa, also said Emirates offered profit-sharing schemes.
“Last year, we had 129,000 applications for cabin crew at Emirates. I do not think these are conditions that are making people reluctant to work for us,” he said.
Al-Baker said Qatar Airways was recruiting 250 to 300 cabin crew every month and that each open recruitment session saw around 800 and 2,500 candidates.