By Breda Graham
Men, get in line.
Aer Lingus is offering priority boarding to female guests departing on UK and European flights from Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Belfast this International Women's Day.
Some 120 flights on Friday, March 8 will see female guests along with any junior travel companions board their flight ahead of all others as a gesture by the airline to join in the global celebration of recognising the achievements of women and promoting greater gender equality.
Brian Bowden, Chief People Officer for Aer Lingus said "We are delighted to highlight International Women’s Day today by offering Priority Boarding to all female guests on our short-haul flights out of Ireland."
The airline reiterated its commitment to supporting female talent, having last year launched its Future Pilot Programme and the Aircraft Maintenance & Engineering Apprentice Scheme.
Women now make up 48% of all employees and 33% of leadership roles across the airline, including cabin crew, engineers, flight dispatchers, check-in and boarding teams, planners, IT, marketing, communications, finance, and logistics specialists.
Rachel Izzard, Chief Financial Officer at Aer Lingus said “We are committed to fostering female talent and encouraging greater representation across all functions at the airline. As a company, Aer Lingus is committed to attracting a wide breadth of talent.
"This International Women’s Day we celebrate our diverse female talent and our female guests."
