Singapore Air won’t fire pregnant flight attendants anymore

Singapore Airlines Ltd. said pregnant cabin crew can remain employees, reversing a longstanding and much-criticized rule that they leave the airline.

Responding to a Straits Times article on Monday, Singapore Air said pregnant cabin crew “may choose to work in a temporary ground attachment” and can resume flying duties after maternity leave.

Before the new rules, which took effect on July 15, stewardesses who disclosed they were pregnant were put on leave without pay and forced to quit the airline the day after submitting their child’s birth certificate, the newspaper said. There was no ground work for pregnant crew, and in order to fly again, they had to reapply for a fresh job under a program that didn’t guarantee re-employment, according to the report.