The State - News from Aug. 8, 1985

Although a federal agency has said that airline flight attendants should not wear beards, for safety reasons, the question of a ban on beards is still up in the air, a federal appeals court ruled. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco affirmed a federal judge’s order telling American Airlines to go to arbitration on the issue with a union representing flight attendants, despite a 1982 report by the Federal Aviation Administration. In the report, the FAA said the seals on oxygen masks “can be seriously compromised by the presence of facial hair.” Thus, beards on crewmen are “not compatible with aviation safety,” the FAA said. American Airlines cited the FAA report in refusing to accept arbitration in the case of flight attendant Brian Hagerty of San Francisco, who grew a beard while on vacation several years ago.