Virgin Atlantic is to replace its traditional emblem with a diverse range of men and women “representing modern Britain”.

Among the people wearing a red leotard in the updated artwork – to be put on its new A350-1000 fleet – will be a black man and black woman, and a gay man.

The airline says it will be the first to have male figureheads on its jets.

Nikki Humphrey, senior vice president of people at Virgin Atlantic, said: “The saying goes ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and that has never been truer than the aviation industry’s glamorous image in the past.

“By introducing our new flying icons I hope it encourages people from all backgrounds to feel at home flying with us, but also working with us.”

The flying lady was based on pin-up girls made famous by Alberto Vargas in the 1930s and 1940s.

Virgin Atlantic’s announcement comes a month after it emerged the airline has stopped telling female cabin crew they have to wear make-up.

It has also started automatically providing them with trousers as part of their standard uniform.

The carrier has pledged to tackle its gender pay gap and increase diversity and inclusion by creating a 50/50 gender split in leadership roles, as well as 12% black, Asian and minority ethnic group representation across the company, by 2022.

Ms Humphrey added: “We have been working for a number of years to tackle our gender pay gap, create an inclusive workplace and increase the diversity of our workforce, through the development of our springboard scheme for women, as well as the launch of engineering apprenticeships.”

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