Woman Asked to Deboard a Flight Because of Her ‘Offensive’ Top

This woman was asked to leave or cover up if she wanted to be on the flight because her top was “offensive”.

Thomas Cook Airlines apologised to a passenger who said that she was asked to de-board the flight or asked to cover up because she was wearing a crop top. Emily O'Connor took to Twitter to elaborate what happened.

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 O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019

O’ Connor even put out a poll on Twitter seeking opinion on whether her attire was ‘appropriate flying wear or not’.

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 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 O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019

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 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 O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019

In a statement to the Washington Post on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the airline said Thomas Cooks's cabin services director spoke with O'Connor personally to offer an apology.

We are sorry that we upset Ms O’Connor. It’s clear we could have handled the situation better. 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. 

Thomas Cook Airline 

Connor said that the humiliation intensified when the airline staff made an announcement about the situation and a fellow passenger shouted, “Shut up you pathetic woman and put on a f**king jacket.”