Lufthansa's male pilots must wear caps, court rules

FRANKFURT (AFP) - A German court on Monday threw out a complaint by a pilot who felt he was being discriminated against by airline Lufthansa in being forced to wear a cap while on duty, while his women colleagues were not.

A labour court in Cologne found there was no sexual discrimination on Lufthansa's part in enforcing a rule that male pilots had to wear caps in all public areas of airports, while female pilots were not obliged to.

The court, overturning an earlier ruling that was in the pilot's favour, accepted Lufthansa's argument that the cap was part of the historical development of a male pilot's uniform and not an expression of any difference in treatment of the sexes.

A pilot's uniform differed depending on whether they were male or female and a cap was part of the male pilot's uniform, Lufthansa argued.