Thomas Cook Airlines has apologised to a passenger who says she was “told to cover up” when she boarded her flight to Tenerife earlier this month.
Emily O’Connor said cabin crew told her that the crop top and high-waisted trousers she was wearing were “inappropriate” and “caused offence”.
She tweeted that upon boarding the flight on March 2, she was told to cover up and would be removed from the aircraft if she didn’t put a jacket on.
“Flying from Birmingham, to Tenerife, Thomas Cook told me 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 four flight staff around me to get my luggage to take me off the plane.”
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
The 21-year-old said in another tweet a man sitting a few rows back was wearing a vest top and shorts but wasn’t spoken to by cabin crew.
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: “We are sorry 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.”
Cook’s “appropriate attire” policy reads: “Customers wearing inappropriate attire (including items with offensive slogans or images) will not be permitted to travel unless a change of clothes is possible.”