Image: Aer Lingus
Over 300 Aer Lingus employees, family and friends paraded through the streets of Dublin in colour last Saturday as they took part in the 2023 Dublin Pride Festival.
In its fifth year as the official airline partner of the Dublin Pride Festival, the Aer Lingus float took the form of a A320 aircraft decked out with the iconic Aer Lingus colours and shamrock flying high over the float as it taxied through the city. The float was completed with a rainbow jet stream and Aer Lingus Proud Flies Wing Tips and wowed spectators along the parade route from O’Connell Street to Merrion Square.
‘Fabulous’
The 2023 Aer Lingus float accompanied over 300 Aer Lingus staff through the city during the parade. It was piloted by DJ Gordo and crewed by Craig Fitzgerald, Aer Lingus Cabin Services Manager who is also part-time Drag Queen, Avryll Nitrate and featured in a special Aer Lingus’ video* earlier this week celebrating Craig’s story; showcasing his career as a Cabin Services Manager and his passion for Drag Performance. As Craig says, ‘’If I wasn’t living a fabulous life, I wouldn’t be true to myself.’’
Aer Lingus has been the official airline of the Dublin Pride Parade since 2018 as part of its Proud Flies initiative. Proud Flies was set up as part of the airline’s Diversity and Inclusion programme with an aim of embracing and promoting an inclusive, open LGBTQ+ community within the company to ensure that employees feel comfortable and confident to bring their whole selves to work. Proud Flies and Allies across the company have worked on several internal initiatives to educate and support the network including employee and manager engagement workshops focusing on health, wellbeing and bringing your whole self to work each day.
The Dublin Pride Parade marks a key highlight for Proud Flies and Allies, this is evident through the 300+ colleagues, allies and friends who took part in the parade to champion Diversity and Inclusion within Aer Lingus.
Anne Kiely, Chief People Officer of Aer Lingus, said, “At Aer Lingus, we continuously work to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion is at the forefront of everything we do as a company, and that every employee feels supported and welcomed to bring their true selves to work every day.
‘’Our participation in Dublin Pride is a celebratory occasion for our employees and their friends and family who join them today, and a recognition of our promise to continue to make strides in the realm of diversity, equity and inclusion for the future.”
