Dublin Pride is celebrated today, with a large parade from O’Connell Street to Merrion Square in the city centre. Aer Lingus is the official airline sponsor and they participated with their plane float.
The Irish carrier first attended back in 2018 and it’s good to see them still participating. Airlines tend to have a relatively large cohort identifying LGBTQ+ so it makes sense to have them joining in.
Plane Float
Over 300 employees headed into the city to join the plane float as it progressed along the parade route. It was “piloted” by DJ Gordo and “crewed” by Craig Fitzgerald, an Aer Lingus Cabin Services Manager who performs as Drag Queen Avryll Nitrate.
Be True To Yourself
A few days in advance of Dublin Pride, Aer Lingus released a video called “Be True To Yourself”. It highlights the experienced Cabin Services Manager and his drag persona.
The messaging is really good and it’s still somewhat of a brave thing to do, as there are always elements in society who just can’t cope with this sort of thing.
Overall Thoughts
I remember being quite surprised when I first saw the Aer Lingus plane float back in 2018. Ireland really has become much more sophisticated and accepting in the time I’ve lived here when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights.
There is still much to do, as there are still people who act with violence against members of the community, not to mention a whole host of rights that are still pending. These are some of the reasons why the parade is still relevant today.
What do you think of Aer Lingus participating in Dublin Pride? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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All images via Aer Lingus.
Bravo for Aer Lingus. just love the pics and there’s nothing like seeing happy people in them. applause, applause, applause.