Originally Posted by
Ohfeck
I can agree there is a number of what can only be described as problematic people here at VAA in regards to attitudes to women, we all knew they existed.
I know of at least one female SFO who left the company last year who is in the process of legal action against Virgin for covering up the sexual harassment and bullying she received from a number of virgin pilots.
Apparently it was covered up and excused by Virgin Flight operations management and including the chief pilot and pilot management team and higher, and what shocked me more when I heard her speak of it was that HR at Virgin were complicit and active in the cover up. The documents she showed me were pretty damming as even Virgin’s internal investigation found she had suffered the harassment.
So I very much believe that this kind of behaviour is
unfortunately much more prevalent at VAA than any other organisation I’ve worked for.
While I don’t wish to diminish anyone’s personal experience-particularly when it involves something as serious as harassment-it’s important to approach claims like these with a degree of balance and factual scrutiny. Virgin Atlantic is a relatively small airline in terms of pilot community, and word travels fast. If this kind of systemic issue were as widespread as suggested, I believe more of us would be aware of it. As someone actively flying for the airline, I’ve neither witnessed nor heard of anything that supports the notion that this kind of behaviour is common or tolerated.
To describe a “number”of Virgin pilots as being involved in harassment, based on one individual’s serious (but singular) allegation, feels misleading. That there may be isolated incidents-yes, as with any airline or professional environment-but it’s reductive to characterise an entire group of pilots, or the company culture as a whole, on that basis. Every airline has its share of difficult personalities; this is not unique to Virgin, nor does it imply a cultural failing.
From my own perspective, Virgin’s flight crew management and training department set high standards of professionalism and behaviour. In my experience, they do not hesitate to act when those standards are breached. If the internal investigation referenced in the original statement did indeed find that harassment occurred, I would be surprised if it was genuinely “covered up” without further action or consequences-particularly in the current climate, where corporate accountability is under immense scrutiny.
Allegations of this nature deserve to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly-but they must also be presented responsibly. Generalising from a single legal dispute risks painting an inaccurate picture of a company that, in my time here, has demonstrated a clear commitment to professionalism, respect, and accountability.