Southwest Airlines Says Customer was Dressed Inappropriately for a Flight

Earlier this month, a woman named Avital was boarding a 6 AM flight from Las Vegas to New York wearing a cotton dress, scarf, and an open flannel shirt. A representative for the airline told her that the amount of cleavage the dress displayed was "inappropriate" for the flight and that Avital would have to button up her flanal shirt in order to board the plane. Instead, Avital kept her head high and her flannel open, entering the plane the way she wanted to, cleavage and all. "And lo and behold, the plane didn't fall out of the sky... my cleavage did not interfere with the plane's ability to function properly," she told Jezebel. "To add insult to injury, the guy sitting in front of me on the plane was wearing a shirt with an actual Trojan condom embedded behind a clear plastic applique and had no trouble getting on his flight." She went on to describe the incident as, "Slut shaming, pure and simple."

Christi McNeill, a spokesperson for the airline, said that "as a gesture of goodwill," the company offered Avital an apology and a refund, as they have done with many other customers who have complained about similar instances. Still, she said that Southwest's Contract of Carriage allows the company to refuse to transport a customer whose clothing is lewd, obscene, or patently offensive, because they want to promote "a casual and family-focused atmosphere onboard our aircraft and in our airports."

Southwest has kicked people off flights before for reasons that could be classified as arbitrary or insulting. For example, Kyla Ebbert was escorted off a flight by a Southwest customer service supervisor in 2007 due to an "inappropriate" outfit when the temperature was over 100 degrees, and while Setara Qassim was allowed to board her flight with a low-cut top the following week, a flight attendant forced her to wear a blanket over her chest. Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day was also kicked off the flight for his apparel -- the airline thought his baggy pants were too low.

Southwest Airlines does not have an official dress code advising flyers of what is and is not appropriate clothing for a flight. Instead, that decision is up to the discretion of employees. McNeill explained, "We simply ask that our Customers use good judgment and exercise discretion in deference to other customers who depend on us to provide a comfortable travel experience."

It's not always clothing that will cause tensions between Southwest and their customers. Kevin Smith, a movie director in Hollywood, was told that his weight made him a "safety risk." He publicized the incident via Twitter. Leisha Hailey is an actress on The L Word who was kicked off a flight for kissing her girlfriend.

Southwest is not the only airline that has had this type of trouble wtih it's passengers. According to a Huffington Post article, American Airlines wouldn't let a woman board a connecting flight because of a curse word on her pro-choice t-shirt. On the American Airlines website, it says that " American may refuse to transport you, or may remove you from your flight at any point, for one or several reasons." One of those reasons is if you "are clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to other passengers." U.S. Airways also had to remove a passanger for inappropriate clothing.

Somewhat surprisingly, this man was allowed to board, hassle-free.