Virgin Pride flight takes to the skies

Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic took Pride celebrations to new heights as the UK’s first Pride Flight took to the skies, celebrating World Pride 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Passengers were treated to six hours of Pride extravagance with a troupe of drag queens leading games, inter-seat dating and a set from DJ Jodie Harsh who kept everyone dancing.

Actor and singer Tituss Burgess (of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame) belted out his favourite songs halfway across the Atlantic to a rowdy crowd of 300 passengers. He said: “Let me be perfectly queer – the Virgin Pride Flight was an event to remember.”

Jodie Hash said there was just an “incredible amount of positive energy” on the flight, and it was “the ultimate party in the sky”.

There were also lots of celebrity passengers joining in the fun, including entertainer Courtney Act, Grammy-winning singer songwriter MNEK, Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Pritchard, model and activist Munroe Bergdorf, television darling Scarlett Moffatt and singer of the official London Pride song Saara Aalto.

It was a momentous day for 80-year old Stonewall veteran, Tree Sequoia, who recalls the night of the Stonewall Uprising and how the world changed after the demonstrations. Tree still works as a bartender at the Stonewall Inn in New York, where the riots kicked off in 1969.

The flight is just the beginning of Virgin’s World Pride 2019 celebrations, in partnership with NYC & Company and the Alliance for Downtown New York, with guests set to take part in a host of activities including a party at the One World Observatory.

Diversity and inclusion has long been a priority for Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic. In 2016, Virgin Holidays launched a three-year plan to become one of the most inclusive companies in travel with a programme addressing employees, customers and the destinations it serves.

Head over to Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic to find out more.