Ill fit: The passenger was only permitted to fly in a loaned shirt. Photo / Kayla Eubanks, Twitter.com
Ill fit: The passenger was only permitted to fly in a loaned shirt. Photo / Kayla Eubanks, Twitter.com
American carrier Southwest Airlines has apologised to a passenger who was refused boarding on a flight due to her "lewd, obscene and offensive" outfit — and was able to fly only after borrowing a T-shirt from the captain.
Kayla Eubanks took to Twitter last week to call out the airlinefollowing the drama as she tried to board her flight from New York to Chicago.
She said she was initially stopped from boarding at the gate after an airline staff member pulled her up on what she was wearing.
"Y'all I was kicked off my @SouthwestAir flight because my boobs are 'lewd, obscene and offensive'. I was told that passengers may look at me in my attire and be offended," Ms Eubanks tweeted, along with a photo of her in a black top, long red skirt and sneakers.
"How will my shirt impact my flight, for myself, the other passengers or even the pilot? Y'all have a dress code for CUSTOMERS who pay to get on a plane? It's the constant policing of women's bodies for me."
Towards the end of the video, the worker appears to tell another employee to "close the plane in three minutes" before asking Ms Eubanks if she would cover up after she was unable to find the policy.
This @SouthwestAir employee practically did cartwheels to ensure that I wouldn’t get on this plane y’all. I was held at the gate for 30 minutes because of my shirt. pic.twitter.com/gxnlNX4H6b
"I kid y'all not, from the moment I stepped into my departing airport, to the duration of the flight and even after I landed, I was harassed," Ms Eubanks tweeted.
"Not by passengers, but by Southwest employees. Half of the employees were complimenting me & the other half was asking where my shirt was."
Later, the captain was brought in and offered his shirt to Ms Eubanks so she could board the plane.
"I eventually took it off," Ms Eubanks wrote on Twitter. "Only to be told that I would have to speak with a supervisor upon landing."
Southwest Airlines said it had since apologised to Ms Eubanks and offered her a refund as a "gesture of goodwill".
The airline's dress code says: "Dress to impress. While Southwest's dress code is relaxed and casual, you will be expected to present a clean, well groomed, and tasteful appearance."
Ms Eubanks told Buzzfeed News she chose to wear the outfit she wore so she would be dressed for the hot weather in Chicago when she landed.
She said a problem was the inconsistency in how airline staff enforced expectations of passengers' attire.
