Qatar Airways and Emirates have defended their policies on cabin crew who become pregnant.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is running a campaign against Qatar Airways over its monitoring of staff and rules preventing women from becoming pregnant and getting married.
In a Reuters report from ITB in Berlin last week, Qatar Airways chief Akbar al Baker said people were attacking Qatar because it had won the right to host the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Qatar has been criticised for its treatment of migrant workers helping to build facilities for the World Cup.
Qatar Airways’ contracts forbid any member of the cabin crew, the vast majority of whom are female, from marrying during the first five years of their employment with the firm.
Al Baker said because local regulations prevented pregnant cabin crew from flying and the company did not have many ground jobs available for them, pregnant women must often leave.
Emirates said it has a policy whereby female cabin crew that become pregnant in the first three years have to leave.
"If you are hired by Emirates as a cabin crew, during the first three years we expect you to fly," chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori said.
