A woman was taken by surprise when she was removed from a flight for 'causing offence' with her seemingly innocent outfit.
Taking to Twitter to vent her anger and frustration at the situation, Emily O’Connor, from Birmingham, explained how she was removed from a Thomas Cook flight because of her ‘inappropriate’ outfit, which was made up of a pair of high-waisted linen trousers and a black cropped cami top.
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‘Flying from Bham to Tenerife, Thomas Cook told me that they were going to remove me from the flight if I didn’t “cover up” as I was “causing offence” and was “inappropriate”. They had 4 flight staff around me to get my luggage to take me off the plane.
‘[I] wore this through the airport (security, passport control etc), boarded the plane, told to cover up by the greeting staff, sat down, flight manager and 4 flight staff said I would be removed unless I put a jacket on.’
‘I informed the staff that there is no “appropriate wear” policy stipulated online,’ continued the 21-year-old.
‘I stood up on the flight and asked if anyone was offended, no-one said a word.
‘To top it off they allowed a man hurl abuse at me whilst the Flight manager and 4 air staff stood and said nothing.
'[He] shouted “Shut up you pathetic woman. Put a f*cking jacket on”- the staff said nothing to him.
‘I was given a jacket by my cousin sitting at the front of the plane and they did not leave until I physically put it on,’ added Emily. ‘They made comments over the speaker about the situation and left me shaking and upset on my own.’
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Emily took to Twitter to ask whether Internet users thought her chosen outfit was appropriate or inappropriate flying wear and set up a vote.
Over a whopping 24,000 Twitter users voted in only 17 hours, with a massive 85 per cent assuring Emily that she had chosen an appropriate outfit.
And nearly 900 people commented backing up their thoughts, with one woman condemning the airline’s actions: ‘I’m crew myself and would not think twice to ask you to cover up, there is no policy on what you can and cannot wear!
‘That is awful to see that the crew on board made you feel that way, disgusting!’
The airline has since made a formal apology, with a spokesperson saying: 'We are sorry that we upset Ms O'Connor. It's clear we could have handled the situation better.'
They have clarified that an appropriate attire policy is available to read in their in-flight magazine.
It states: 'customers wearing inappropriate attire (including items with offensive slogans or images) will not be permitted to travel unless a change of clothes is possible'.
Have you ever been in or seen a similar situation? Would you be offended by the outfit in question? Head over to our Facebook to share your thoughts and let us know what you usually wear when you travel!
