Delta Flight Attendants Say New Uniforms Are Toxic

According to Business Insider, Delta flight attendants are complaining that the new set of uniforms that were introduced by the airline are causing skin rashes and other symptoms such as breaking out in hives and hair loss almost a year after the company introduced them. The airline says that they are addressing the issues, but some flight attendants say that they fear of the retaliation that may come following their complaints.

The uniforms were designed to turn Delta’s 24,000 flight attendants into walking advertisements, with encouragement to advertise their new uniforms on their social media accounts. It did not take long for the women to start complaining of skin rashes, and hair loss.

“I noticed right away after I put the uniforms on. I had shortness of breath, and I have been a runner my whole life,” said a Delta fight attendant whose name remains anonymous. Another flight attendant said she noticed rashes all over her body that looked like chemical burns or chemical bites that made it hard for her to sleep.

Although no definitive scientific analysis has determined what is causing the rashes, doctors have told the flight attendants that formaldehyde and Teflon chemical finishing that is put on the uniforms to make them stain resistant may be the culprit. Delta has said 1% of employees in the new uniform program had reported issues but declined to give exact figures. It is also not the first time flight attendants have claimed that the uniforms have made them sick.

In 2011, flight attendants at Alaska Airlines began suffering health problems after the company introduced new uniforms. A 2018 study done by the independent Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study Group of more than 600 flight attendants, found that the skin issues, breathing problems, insomnia and other health concerns faced by flight attendants at Alaska Airlines increased dramatically after the introduction of new uniforms in early 2011. “The airlines always deny there is a problem. The airlines are very risk-averse when it comes to any health research studies. They don’t tend to cooperate.”