Saturday 24^th August - Manchester Pride has once again returned to the streets of the city and this year featuring a new addition with Aer Lingus as proud partners. With rainbows adorning almost every window along Deansgate and beyond, the popular festival returned with a quintessentially Mancunian theme, “Buzzin' to be Queer - A Hive of Progress”.

Aer Lingus, who has taken part in Dublin Pride for several years, has chosen to participate in Manchester Pride to support their LGBTQI+ colleagues working in Manchester, through its Proud Flies support network.

Also joining for the first time was Aer Lingus Cabin Services Manager, Craig Fitzgerald, AKA Drag Queen Avryll Nitrate. A mainstay of the Dublin LGBTQ+ scene, Craig joined the Manchester Pride parade as Avryll for the first time alongside her employer, Aer Lingus.

“I’ve been so excited for this day. I’ve been part of Dublin Pride many times, but Manchester is such an amazing city and I’ve had such a great welcome’’, commented Craig.

“Manchester Pride is one of those events that people travel from all over to be at. It’s amazing to bring together so many people all connected by our community and our desire to be true to ourselves and express who we are.”

Commenting on what it means to sponsor Manchester Pride, Anne Kiely, Aer Lingus Chief People Officer said: “At Aer Lingus, we’re putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront of everything we do as a company, and it is incredibly important to us to create a workplace in which every person on our team feels comfortable being themselves.

‘’Our participation in Manchester Pride is a celebratory occasion for our employees and their friends and family who join them today, and a recognition of Aer Lingus' promise to continue to make strides in the realm of diversity, equity and inclusion for the future.”

Craig continued: “It’s really important to me that I work for a company that values who I am. It was such a great feeling to join our team from the Manchester base. We were all “buzzin to be queer” and show our true selves as we walked in the parade.

“Making people smile is what I do. Whether it’s as cabin crew, looking after passengers and welcoming them to their destination, or performing on stage. It’s all about people.”

And speaking of this year’s theme…

“I think the theme was perfect for the city. Manchester has been a hive of progress for the LGBTQ+ community. Right in the middle of The Village is the Alan Turing memorial which reminds us how far we’ve come. Pride is still a protest, and that’s why it was so important to be here and I’m proud that the company I work for lends its full support.”

Proud Flies was set up as part of the airline’s Diversity and Inclusion programme with an aim of embracing and promoting an inclusive, open LGBTQ+ community within the company to ensure that employees feel comfortable and confident to bring their whole selves to work. Proud Flies and Allies across the company have worked on several internal initiatives to educate and support the network including employee and manager engagement workshops focusing on health, wellbeing and bringing your whole self to work each day.

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