Delta's New Rule That Flight Attendants Must Wear 'Proper Undergarments' Has Commenters Buzzing: What 'Made Them Send This'

Mar. 15, 2025

A flight attendant on an airplane (stock image).Photo: Getty

Delta Air Lines' new rule has the internet abuzz.

The airline released atwo-page memoearlier this month, in which it detailed “appearance requirements” for jobseekers looking to join the company as a flight attendant.

Specifically outlining how potential employees should look during the interview process, while training and throughout the duration of their career, Delta listed its requirements tied to grooming, hair, jewelry and clothing — as well as underwear.

Potential hires and current flight attendants must wear “proper undergarments,” though they “must not be visible," the memo said.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Delta said, “In the interest of transparency and clarity for all perspective candidates, we are encouraging people to ‘dress for success’ and give a great first impression as they aspire to join the flight attendant ranks.”

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A Delta Air Lines airplane.Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty

Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty

As for hair, Delta said that attendants must have a “natural-looking” color with “no stark highlights or unnatural shades.” Should their hair be longer than shoulder-length, it must be “pulled completely back and secured away from the eyes." But, if it still extends past the middle of the back, it needs to be pinned up.

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The inside of an airplane (stock image).Getty

Getty

“A single side-nose piercing with a pinhead stud is permitted. Gold, silver, white pearl, or clear diamond/diamond-like studs only,” the memo notes. “No other facial or visible body piercings are allowed.”

Flight attendants are allowed “a maximum of two earrings per ear,” and they must be “no larger than a dime.” Hoop earrings and ear stretching gauges are not permitted, the airline said.

A Delta Air Lines airplane.Getty

Despite the numerous rules tied to how its flight attendants must present themselves, Delta wrote in the memo, “We will work with you to accommodate a specific manner of dress or physical appearance in keeping with religious beliefs or practices unless it causes a safety hazard or other undue burden on the company."

The airline also said that during the interview day, profanity, chewing gum and the use of phones or earbuds are not permitted.

In aReddit forumwhere the requirements were shared, many users reacted to the guidelines. “I want to know what happened that made them send this out lol” one user wrote, as another said, “The fact that they had to send this out in the first place … 👀.”

Others, meanwhile, agreed that Delta was in the right for setting the expectations, with one commentator stating, “I see nothing wrong with this. It is mostly for the sake of hygiene and safety. Clean, neat professional appearance.”

Another noted, “The fact that they have to put it in a letter to prospective new hires says more about the candidates than [Delta].”

source: people.com