Air New Zealand on the verge of announcing a decline in tattoos

Air New Zealand could announce a policy change on visible tattoos tomorrow.

The airline is under pressure to relax its rules on tattoos, especially tā moko, for several years.

It is understood that CEO Christopher Luxon could announce a policy change tomorrow after five months of consulting staff and customers from here and elsewhere.

The airline applied its uniform standard during recruitment. Customer-facing staff members are not allowed to wear tattoos when they wear the uniform.

But the airline is under increasing pressure and "positive changes" are imminent in this airline, where the focus is increasingly on gender and cultural diversity.

In March, a Whangārei man said that Air New Zealand was hypocritical after refusing for a role because of his tā moko while he was covering their koru uniforms and koru-patterned planes.

Sydney Heremaia, 36, applied for a customer service agent position in February from the national carrier at Whangārei Airport.

When applying online, he revealed that he had a tā moko on his right shoulder and a tatau, a lean Samoan art form on his left forearm. The two were not visible while they were wearing a dress shirt.

Heremaia was then asked to provide pictures and to explain the cultural significance, what he did.

A representative of Air New Zealand then sent him an e-mail informing him of the refusal of his post because "the body art you stated does not conform to our uniform standards." for the roles wearing the Koru uniform ".

It has been suggested that he may apply for other roles not requiring Koru's uniform, but has not specified whether tā moko and tatau would be a problem.

In March, Heremaia told the Herald that they were not "body art" and reflected her culture and heritage.

Heremaia said that it was hypocritical for Air New Zealand not to allow tā moko among its staff when it was using koru motifs on its uniforms and planes.

A spokeswoman for the Human Rights Commission said that a person of Maori descent could not be denied a job, access to premises or denied service, because she was obviously wearing moko.

"The traditional moko is an expression and celebration of Maori culture and identity.

The commission had advised employers to use their common sense to identify the moko, rather than seeking to question the authenticity of the moko or the person's ethnicity with the moko.

Anyone who had been refused for work because of his moko could contact the commission for help.

In 2013, a Maori woman complained of being named Air New Zealand air hostess because of her tā moko.

Air New Zealand had then declared that they were not allowed because some passengers "would not feel comfortable", whether tattoos are considered cultural or not.

A number of other airlines still apply strict rules regarding the non-visibility of tattoos.