Tui responded yesterday amid widespread criticism that airline staff handed out different stickers to boys and girls.
The operator apologised after ‘future captain’ stickers were given to boys and ‘cabin crew’ to girls during a Tui Airways flight.
Dame Gillian Morgan, a former permanent secretary to the Welsh assembly, noticed the stickers following a flight to Bristol from Paphos, Cyprus.
She saw cabin crew handing out the stickers to children on board the aircraft.
In an interview with Metro, Dame Gillian said it was “deeply sexist” and was “absolutely sure” it was deliberate to hand stickers by gender.
“The stickers were gender neutral but it’s the way that they were handed out that makes it complicated,” she reportedly said.
“I was with my great-niece and my great-nephew and of the two of them, she’s going to be the pilot, he’s going to be the cabin crew,” Dame Morgan said.
“I just think it’s a shame. Tui were trying, I think, to do the right thing but fundamentally missed the point.
“There must have been a way of doing it with a bit more thought. I was quite upset by it really.”
Tui is running a ‘moment maker’ initiative where airline crew are able to surprise customers during their flight with ‘toolkits’ on board which contain stickers.
The stickers are not designed for boys or girls but for all children.
The future pilot and future cabin crew stickers are designed in Tui blue colours for crew to hand out to boys and girls on their flight regardless of their gender.
A Tui spokesman said: “We’re sorry to hear a small number of customers have been upset by this.
“We think it has just been a simple mix-up since our future pilot and cabin crew stickers are designed for use for any child regardless of gender.
“The stickers are part of our activity packs which are intended to be used by crew to interact, engage with and create special moments for our customers on their holiday.
“The feedback we’ve had so far this summer has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Children fall in love with flying when they go on their holidays with us and we want to encourage their dreams of becoming future pilots and crew members.”