However, in recent years there have been a number of cases where airline staff have deemed a passenger’s – usually female – clothing to be ‘inappropriate’, resulting in them being either kicked off their flight or forced to cover up. This week, TikTok star Jaycee blasted Southwest Airlines for “slut-shaming” her by insisting she cover up her outfit on a flight. Not only is the airline accused of insisting she wear a flight attendant-provided jumper, but also kicking another woman off the flight for standing up for Jacy during the dispute over her outfit. Jacy, who posts as @MaybeJacy, posted a video saying: “Bro, I was clothes coded on a flight? Are we in high school? Are you worried about my shoulders?’ It included shots of her outfit, which was a coral corset-style top and khaki cargo pants or shorts. “I was basically wearing a corset, I was more dressed than half the plane because it’s like 103 degrees outside so everyone was wearing shorts and tank tops,” she explained in the caption. It is not an isolated incident. In January, a former Miss Universe, Olivia Culpo, said she was told to cover for American Airlines staff or risk not being able to board her flight to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The model wore tight black shorts with a midriff-baring crop top and a long black cardigan. Ms Culpo’s sister, Aurora, posted a video on Instagram after the incident, explaining that her sister was called to the airline’s desk at the gate for staff to “tell her she has to put on a top or she can’t board . level”. “Tell me isn’t that crazy?” Aurora Culpo marveled. And it’s not the first time this has happened. In September 2021, an American woman accused Alaska Airlines of harassment after she was removed from a flight for wearing an outfit the flight attendant deemed “inappropriate.” Rae Lynn Howard, a rapper and stylist from Fairbanks, Alaska who goes by the stage name Fat Trophy Wife, shared her experience in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than nine million times. UK-based airlines are also no surprise. In March 2019 passenger Emily O’Connor tweeted a thread saying she was left “shaken and upset” after crew on a Thomas Cook flight from Birmingham to Tenerife threatened to kick her off the plane unless she it covered her crop top and high-waisted combo pants. O’Conor pointed out that no airport staff had commented on her outfit and that, when asked, no fellow passengers said they had a problem with it. Yet when she went to board the plane, she claimed airline staff humiliated her by threatening to take her luggage off the plane if she didn’t hide it and making announcements about the situation. So what are the rules around what we wear on a plane? Confusingly, every airline worldwide can set its own dress code, and most are vague or non-existent. Some – mostly US carriers – have a set of “conditions of carriage” terms and conditions that include dress code requirements for passengers, but many do not. For example, Alaska Airlines’ policy says, “The requirement is simply a neat and well-groomed appearance. Clothes that are soiled or tattered and bare feet are never acceptable. You are expected to use good judgment, but customer service agents will have the final authority to deny travel for inappropriate attire or appearance.” America Airlines’ passenger responsibility statement reads: “To ensure a safe environment for everyone, you must… Dress appropriately. No bare feet or offensive clothing allowed.” There is no clarification on what constitutes “offensive clothing”, nor who decides what that definition is. Every airline worldwide can set their own dress code and most are vague or non-existent Meanwhile, Thomas Cook does not have any kind of dress code on its website. Essentially this means that any cabin crew member could potentially offend any uniform on a whim, with little advance guidance to passengers from the airline on what to avoid. Katherine Allen of Hugh James, a law firm that deals with individual consumer claims among other cases, says it is rare for UK airlines to enforce dress codes. “BA and Virgin reserve the right to refuse to carry you in certain circumstances, but if you look at the circumstances listed, they don’t say anything about the dress code. “They have some information about being denied boarding ‘if you or your luggage affects the comfort of other passengers,’” he adds, noting that this would be difficult to apply to clothing. Most of the cases where airlines have objected to clothing have involved hot destinations or departure points, from which some prefer to wear beach-ready or light clothing. That’s understandable—if anything, more of us have been caught doing things the other way around, arriving in tropical climes in suddenly stuffy jeans and denim. In June 2019, Houston-based doctor Tisha Rowe had a confrontation with an American Airlines staff member on a trip from sweltering Jamaica to equally hot Miami when a flight attendant told her she couldn’t fly without covering her her strapless jumpsuit. . With no longer clothes on hand, Rowe was forced to cover herself with an airline blanket to board. “I like to be comfortable when I travel,” Rowe said in shock to the Washington Post at the time. Her outfit, she says, was not “significantly different from other passengers I’ve seen” on planes, as she posted a photo of the typical holiday look on Twitter. It is worth noting that, like Ray Lin Howard, Dr Rowe is a woman of colour. Commenters on her tweet insisted it was unlikely a thin white woman in the same outfit would be questioned by cabin crew, while her lawyer, Jeffrey Berg, called the incident a “sexist, racist attack”. “I felt discriminated against because I was a fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman, which in turn left me filled with feelings of anger, frustration, helplessness, humiliation and confusion,” Howard told reporters after her clash. Alaska Airlines. Dr Rowe advised those challenged by their in-flight dress to seek legal recourse. “I think they should take legal action. Until airlines treat all passengers fairly and put clear dress codes in writing, they should be held accountable for the mental anguish they cause through their harsh behaviour,” he told the Independent. She says she was offered a settlement by American Airlines but turned it down. The difficulty for plaintiffs in dealing with airlines that deny them boarding, Allen says, is that payouts from airlines are often worth less than you would spend to instruct a lawyer. “I’ve always advised people, don’t instruct a law firm if you’re going to end up spending more in costs than you’re going to get in compensation. We’re always happy to give advice, but often people don’t want to pursue these cases.” Fortunately, clothing shaming remains relatively rare on a global scale and incidents are particularly uncommon in the UK and Europe. Travel expert Rob Staines, who worked as a cabin crew for many years, says: “In my experience working on many airlines, the crew should not look out for passengers who are dressed ‘inappropriately’. He told the Independent that in 17 years of working for numerous carriers, he had never seen anything like the cases described above. Until airlines treat all passengers fairly and have written clear dress codes, they should be held accountable for the mental anguish they cause Dr. Tisha Rowe The crew can be asked to act if someone is wearing clothing that is “overtly sexual or decorated with offensive language or imagery”, says Staines, but will only act “if other passengers highlight a problem”. Lawyer Kathryn Allen agrees that it is an unlikely scenario within Europe. “I think it’s unlikely here because we have ‘denied boarding’ regulations in the UK and Europe, so if you’ve been denied boarding and put on a different flight, you may be entitled to compensation. “So UK and European airlines don’t want to deny boarding because they don’t want to pay compensation. It’s European legislation but it still applies in the UK and it’s here to stay for a while.” The US, he says, has no such legislation – hence the willingness of airline staff to deal with more passengers. “From a practical point of view, I’d say check the terms and conditions before you fly,” he says. “If there’s something about the dress code and you’re not sure if what you’re wearing is compliant, then put a jacket or jogging bottoms in your carry-on so you can wear them.” Allen believes it’s an outdated policy that could be seen as discriminatory against women. Rob Staines agrees: “Most airlines actively encourage crew to treat all passengers as individuals and reserve judgment on their personal appearance.” After all, he says: “Often the passenger who dresses most casually could be the one sitting in a premium cabin, bringing in the most revenue.”
