Airports and flights are the places where one can expect the most bizarre things to happen. From finding obscured foreign objects like cockroaches in the mid-air meal to a man roaming around the flight in boxers, airlines have super bizarre stories to offer always.
The latest addition to this never-ending list of strange airport tales is that of a Brit woman traveling with Thomas Cook airlines. The woman who boarded the flight at Bham was traveling to Tenerife.
She wore a fashionable outfit of a crop top and pants to the flight. The airlines asked her to cover herself up as she was ‘causing offense’ and was ‘inappropriate’ or they would remove her from the flight.
So, frustrated with their appalling behavior, the woman called out the airline for their bizarre behavior in a Twitter post.
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. pic.twitter.com/r28nvSYaoY
— emily rose o’connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
just a bit more context for those asking: 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…
— emily rose o’connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
To top it off they allowed a man hurl abuse at me whilst the Flight manager and 4 air staff stood and said nothing.
— emily rose o’connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
Describing the entire incident in details, the woman told The Sun, “A guy two rows in front of me shouted: ‘Shut up you pathetic woman, put a f***ing jacket on’ and they all just let him shout at me. A gent two rows behind me was wearing shorts and a vest top and nothing was said to him. They were going to kick me off the flight and held it for 20 minutes. It wasn’t until I physically put the jacket on that they left.”
“It was the most sexist, misogynistic, embarrassing experience of my life. The way they can tell anyone what is or is not appropriate… I could wear that in Birmingham in the street and I wouldn’t get harassed,” said the woman.
asked the plane (as they were all listening now anyway) if I was offending anyone, no-one said a word. The manager then went to get my bag to remove me from the flight. A man then shouted “Shut up you pathetic woman. Put a f*cking jacket on”- the staff said nothing to him
— emily rose o’connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
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. They made comments over the speaker about the situation and left me shaking and upset on my own.
— emily rose o’connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
Later on, a spokesperson of Thomas Cook airlines apologized to the woman for their behavior. After a proper investigation, the airlines also issued a statement of apology to the woman.
“We are sorry that we upset Ms O’Connor. It’s clear we could have handled the situation better,” the statement read. “In common with most airlines we have an appropriate attire policy. This applies equally to men and women of all ages without discrimination. Our crews have the difficult task of implementing that policy and don’t always get it right.”
At a time where the world is working hard to empower women, such incidents where a woman is called “pathetic” for her fashion choices is certainly disgraceful and appalling.