World’s Largest Airline Pilots’ Union Tells Members To Be More ‘Inclusive’: Stop Saying ‘Cockpit,’ ‘Manpower’

 The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the largest airline pilot’s union in the world, published a diversity, equity and inclusion language guide to its members in 2021 instructing them to refrain from using words such as “cockpit,” “airmen,” and “manpower” in order to “reflect the diversity we have at ALPA” and to “create a more inclusive workplace.”

“While the word ‘cockpit’ dates back to the 1900s, it has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the guide explained, according to Breitbart. “Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession. The intent behind the use of the word is important. … While the word ‘cockpit’ dates back to the 1900s, it has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession. … Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession. The intent behind the use of the word is important.”

The APLA also dislikes using the terms “mother” and “father” because those “may inadvertently ignore different family structures,” such as “caregivers, same-sex parents, stepparents, families with adopted members, and more,” Breitbart noted.

The ALPA released a statement to Fox News, saying:

Flying is the safest mode of transportation in the world thanks in large part to airline pilots, professionals that are all held to the highest training and qualification standards. There are real threats to aviation safety like efforts to replace pilots with automation or lower training and experience standards, but opening the doors of opportunity to ensure we have a robust supply of qualified aviators isn’t one of them.

In 2021, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was slammed after saying of the company’s graduating pilot classes, “We have committed that 50% of the classes will be women or people of color.”