Airline crew may skip Tehran route to dodge headscarf

Women employees of Air France will be allowed to opt out of working on resumed flights to Iran to avoid wearing a headscarf, a company official announced Monday.

The airline will appoint a "special unit" to replace those who do not want to fly to Tehran, he said.

"Any woman assigned to the Paris-Tehran flight who, for reasons of personal choice, would refuse to wear the headscarf upon leaving the plane will be reassigned to another destination, and thus will not be obliged to do this flight," Air France official Gilles Gateau told Europe 1 radio.

The airline plans to start three weekly flights between Paris and Tehran beginning 17 April, after they were suspended due to international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Unions said company executives informed female cabin crew members that they will be required to wear trousers with a loose fitting jacket on board flights to Tehran and must cover their hair with a scarf when they leave the plane.

The requirement was already in place on the Tehran route before flights were suspended in 2008, Air France said.

The headscarf rule also applies when flying to other destinations, such as Saudi Arabia.

Agencies contributed to this report.