Woman Wearing Crop Top Told To 'Cover Up' Before Boarding Flight, Airline Apologises Later
A passenger on the Thomas Cook Airline was given the choice between covering up or being removed from the plane. Emily O&rsquoConnor took to Twitter to share her story. The airline has since apologised to her. OConnor called the incident The most sexist misogynistic embarrassing experience of my life.
After a passenger on the Thomas Cook Airline was given the choice between 'covering up' or being removed from the plane, the airline apologised to her.
Emily O¡¯Connor took to Twitter to share her story. While she was on the Birmingham airport, she was told by the Thomas Cook staff that her outfit - a sleeveless crop top and high-waist pants - exposed a section of her midriff and was inappropriate.
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
¡ª Emily O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
O¡¯Connor had no trouble while getting through the airport security, but said that at least four staff members surrounded her once she boarded the flight and tried to forcibly remove her from the plane if she didn¡¯t change her clothes.
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...
¡ª Emily O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
In an interview with The Sun, O'Connor called the incident "The most sexist, misogynistic, embarrassing experience of my life. A gent two rows behind me was wearing shorts and a vest top and nothing was said to him."
The woman also said that she asked the passengers sitting nearby if they were offended by her outfit, to which no one replied. But when someone from the airline made comments over the speaker about the situation, it left her ¡®shaking and upset¡¯, she wrote.
O¡¯Connor claimed that she was also harassed by another man on the plane, who shouted, "Shut up you pathetic woman, put a f---ing jacket on." The crew did nothing in response, she said.
To top it off they allowed a man hurl abuse at me whilst the Flight manager and 4 air staff stood and said nothing.
¡ª 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
¡ª Emily O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
Her cousin ultimately gave her a jacket to wear, but flight staff did not leave until she ¡®physically put it on¡¯.
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.
¡ª Emily O'Connor (@emroseoconnor) March 12, 2019
In a statement to The Post on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the airline said Thomas Cook¡¯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," the statement read. "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."
