'Offensive boobs': Airline nearly bars woman over 'revealing' outfit
A US woman is hitting back at United Airlines after staff tried to refuse her entry on a booked flight over her ‘inappropriate’ outfit.
Andrea ‘Worldwide’, as she is known online, took to Facebook to share the experience she described as ‘horrifying’, alongside a snap of the clothes she was wearing at the time of the incident.
Andrea explained that while attempting to board a flight from Denver to Newark flight, a male United Airlines employee asked her to step out of the line.
Later she was to discover it was over her outfit, a low-slung T-shirt and leggings, which the man had deemed ‘inappropriate’.
“I enquired with (another) employee as to what the issue was and he told me that there was “no issue” with what I was wearing,” she wrote.
“There were two other female United employees at the ticket counter at this point as well, both who were apologizing to me but not doing anything to solve the problem.”
She says it was a supervisor who finally revealed what the problem was to her complete dismay and surprise.
“She did apologize but also commented to me that my shirt was in fact “too revealing”, which means United’s male gate agent felt it was necessary to protect the other passengers from me,” Andrea wrote.
A loyal customer turned irate
Andrea says she was offered a $100 flight voucher, which she refused, and told CBS Denver she was eventually allowed on the flight.
Andrea revealed she is a frequent flyer with the airline, flying roughly every two weeks to visit her boyfriend in San Juan in Puerto Rico.
She is a platinum member of the airline, and despite contacting them after the incident has been offered no more than a $200 voucher for her troubles.
Regardless, she explained she was speaking up to hold the airline to account for the incident, pointing out United Airlines has little accessible information on a dress code which reportedly bans a host of items, but which is not visible on its website or in the boarding lounge.
“I was singled out for no reason whatsoever other than to be embarrassed and humiliated for how I look,” she wrote.
“Whatever the outcome, I don't want any other woman to ever go through the hurt, humiliation and harassment that I experienced at the hands of United’s inappropriate staff.”
Onlookers react to ‘inappropriate’ outfit
Andrea’s post quickly gained traction on Facebook, where many have expressed confusion over what part of the outfit was considered offensive.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your top, I’m so sorry this happened and they treated you that way,” one woman wrote.
“OH my god! That's a perfectly fine shirt...” another agreed.
“You’re pretty covered up, but like you said there’s no dress code!” a third pointed out.
United Airlines told CBS in a statement that they are seeking to ‘better understand’ the situation.
“At United, our goal is for our customers to feel welcome and have a comfortable journey. We are reaching out to our customer to better understand what happened,” a spokesperson told the local news source.
It’s not the first time an airline is under fire for ‘inappropriate’ commentary and action over women’s attire.
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