Virgin to launch first ‘pride flight’ with all LGBT+ crew

Virgin to launch first ‘pride flight’ with all LGBT+ crew

Virgin Atlantic will launch the world’s first flight staffed entirely by members of the LGBT+ community.

The ‘pride flight’ will depart from London Heathrow Airport in June 2019 and fly travellers to New York City where they will celebrate at the World Pride festivities on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, according to SBS. 

The airline teamed up with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Titus Burgess who will be leading entertainment on the eight-hour flight including an on-board DJ, drag bingo, speed dating and a Judy Garland singalong.

Um, where do we sign up?

“At a time when we’re seeing the rights of minority groups under threat, it is more important than ever we stand up and make our voices heard,” Burgess said in a statement.

“The LGBT+ community has made enormous strides over the last 50 years, and I’m so proud to partner with Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic to mark this occasion in style and celebrate the hard-won freedoms from those who came before us.”

Virgin said it will donate a portion of all ticket sales to The Attitude Magazine Foundation, which promotes LGBT+ initiatives.

“We’re not the type of company to mark an occasion like this half-heartedly: we’re going to be pulling out all the stops,” Mark Anderson, executive vice-president of Virgin Atlantic and global LGBT lead for Virgin Group told the Guardian. 

“We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way.”

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