Thomas Cook has apologised after staff told a holidaying Brit wearing a crop top and high-waisted, loose-fitting trousers to “cover up or get off a flight”.
Emily O’Connor, 21, a trainee accountant from Birmingham, told HuffPost UK she had boarded the flight to Tenerife with five friends and family earlier this month for a four day trip – passing customs and security with no problems – before being approached by flight crew.
“I was told by the first staff I was dressed inappropriately and told to cover up,” she said. ”[I] sat down [and] another staff member confronted me and said I was causing offence,” said O’Connor.
When she refused, she claims a flight manager said if she didn’t put a jacket on she would be “removed from the flight”, which upset her particularly, she says, because a man two rows back was wearing “shorts and a vest and nothing [was] said to him.”
“I nearly cried – I was shaking and it was just horrific. I felt so vulnerable,” she told HuffPost UK.
O’Connor posted about her experience on Twitter on Tuesday, with her tweet racking up more than 7,000 likes so far.
HuffPost UK has seen a copy of the airline’s appropriate clothing guide which does not appear to say anything about covering up. It states that shoes must be worn at all times, and that clothes with offensive slogans are not permitted.
“Customers wearing inappropriate attire will not be permitted to travel,” the guide states. But O’Connor told HuffPost UK: “I don’t see how my outfit is inappropriate and offensive.”
In a statement, Thomas Cook apologised and said staff didn’t always “get it right” when implementing its clothing policy.
“We are sorry that we upset Ms O’Connor. It’s clear we could have handled the situation better,” a spokesperson said. “In common with most airlines we have an appropriate clothing 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.”