Airline Bans Woman From Flight Unless She Covered Up

A burlesque dancer has slammed an airline for telling her to dress appropriately before she was allowed to board a flight.

Maggie McMuffin, who was wearing thigh-high socks, a long-sleeve top and quite short shorts, says she about to board a flight on a JetBlue plane from Boston to Seattle on May 18 when a gate agent approached her and told her she wouldn’t be allowed on-board unless she covered up.

She told local news site Kiro 7 that the gate agent apologised for bringing it up but said that what she was wearing was not appropriate. She said that the gate agent and the flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that she needed to put something else on or she would not be allowed to board the flight.

However, Maggie claims nobody had a problem with her wearing the exact same outfit on her earlier connecting flight from New York to Boston “” with the same airline. She says she didn’t have anything else to wear so as a compromise, she said she could tie her top around her waist, but the airline still didn’t agree. Instead, they offered to rebook Maggie on another flight but she said she eventually bought some pants.

“I feel like it’s just a symptom of our patriarchal society that women are sold scantily clad things and if we choose to wear them we can be punished for that,” she said.

Maggie’s friend, Molly McIsaac shared Maggie’s story on Facebook and slammed the way the airline dealt with the situation. She wrote:

“This is Maggie McMuffin. Maggie is a burlesque performer and also a friend. This is what she was wearing last week when JetBlue told her she was dressed inappropriately and couldn’t board the flight from Boston to Seattle she had paid for…No explanation was given except that the pilot said her clothes would prevent her boarding the plane…Maggie ended up having to go to another terminal to buy a pair of women’s sleep shorts in XL for “proper coverage”.

“Sexism is alive and well in this world. How does what Maggie was wearing effect her ability to fly? It doesn’t…Maggie did not deserve to be treated like this.”

Maggie was given a $280 credit and a refund for the price of the pants she bought. However, she wants the airline to apologise and for a clear dress code to be stated, including a larger refund from the airline.

Meanwhile, a JetBlue spokesperson explained what happened and told Kiro 7:

“The gate and on board crew discussed the customer’s clothing and determined that the burlesque shorts may offend other families on the flight. While the customer was not denied boarding, the crew members politely asked if she could change. The customer agreed and continued on the flight without interruption.

“We support our crew members’ discretion to make these difficult decisions, and we decided to reimburse the customer for the cost of the new shorts and offered a credit for future flight as a good will gesture.”

Source: News.com.au