Five ‘inappropriate’ outfits that got passengers kicked off flights in 2021 from showing too much cleavage to crop tops
CHOOSING your airport attire can be quite a tough decision when taking into account comfort, style, and whether it could get you kicked off the plane or not.
Despite the travel sector facing chaos this year, it seems some flight attendants have still gone the extra mile to enforce their clothing policies.
From showing too much cleavage to crop tops, a string of women have told their holiday horror stories after being told their outfits were “inappropriate”.
We took a look at five shocking stories from 2021 of passengers who were kicked off – or nearly – a flight for their choice of clothing.
‘TOO MUCH SKIN’
Another female passenger was stopped from boarding her flight because of her outfit and was told the pilot didn’t like people “showing a lot of skin”.
Catherine Bampton, 23, from Australia, was wearing a halter neck top when trying to catch a Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide on January 13, 2021.
However, she was then stopped and left “publicly embarrassed” by the female staff member.
She explained: “She told me in front of everyone that the pilot was refusing for me to board the plane because of the clothes I was wearing.
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“I was in so much shock and was so confused because my clothes weren’t revealing. It was so embarrassing and humiliating.”
When she asked what was wrong with her outfit, Miss Bampton claimed she was told that “the pilot doesn’t like people showing too much skin”.
She added: “I asked her if you couldn’t show your arms and back and she didn’t know what to respond.
“Everyone else waiting to board the plane was sitting there watching […] and you could see they were staring in shock with their mouths open.”
She was only allowed onto the flight when she put a jacket over her top.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “The dress guidelines on our aircraft are similar to other airlines here in Australia and the vast majority of those who fly with us meet or exceed them.
“As Australia’s most loved airline, it’s always been our intention that those who travel with Virgin Australia feel welcome and have a comfortable journey.
“We are undertaking a review of the incident and have proactively tried to reach out to her to better understand what happened. We’re also reminding frontline team members of our dress code requirements for guests.”
FLY-VIS
This OnlyFans model was left “humiliated” after being told to cover up on a flight after airline employees said her crop top was “inappropriate”.
Isabelle Eleanore was travelling to Melbourne from Australia’s Gold Coast when she was told off by a member of the cabin crew in February.
Despite claiming she had dealt with eight other people from the budget airline Jetstar before boarding, the Instagram star was told her black crop top and jeans were inappropriate as she made her way onto the plane.
She recalled: “I walk on the plane and show my ticket, and the woman goes ‘oh, do you have a jumper?’
“I’m like no I don’t have a jumper, expecting her to be like, ‘you’re going to be really cold’.”
To her shock, the crew member told her: “‘You can’t fly wearing a bikini’,” to which she replied, “It’s not a bikini, it’s a top.”
Isabelle was then told she would be unable to fly without “covering up” as her top was deemed to be too small – and was forced to wear a high vis vest.
After making a few calls, she says the flight attendant came back with a high-vis vest, to make this – gesturing to her chest – ‘more appropriate’.
Isabelle, who was travelling with her husband, Jeremy Szwarcbord, continued: “Then I have to walk all the way to aisle 26 wearing a high-vis vest.
“And she was like, I’m really surprised no one said this to you at the terminal.She looked at me like she was disgusted.
“I didn’t know how to deal with it and I didn’t want to get kicked off the flight so I was like I’m just going to do what she says.”
The model fumed: “If I had small breasts they wouldn’t have said something.”
Jetstar later apologised to Isabelle in wake of the incident for their handling of the situation.
‘DISTURBING’ DRESS SENSE
A glam bodybuilder was banned from boarding a plane this year after staff said her outfit would “disturb families”.
Deniz Saypinar attempted to get on her American Airlines flight from Miami to Texas on July 8 while wearing a pair of denim shorts, a brown tank top, and a white blouse tied around her waist.
But she was knocked back by employees who berated the 26-year-old’s ensemble and claims they even said she looked “naked”.
The Turkish social media star said she was left in tears as she discussed her ordeal with her 1.1 million Instagram followers.
She explained: “I like to wear feminine clothes that reveal my femininity, but I never dress in a way that will offend anyone.
“I’m mature and civilized enough to know what I can and cannot wear. I don’t deserve to be treated like the worst person in the world for wearing denim shorts.
“What separates us from animals if humans can’t control even their most primitive impulses.
“I feel insulted. They wouldn’t let me on the plane because I wore these shorts in the United States,” she added.
‘SLUT SHAMED’
A young woman was left in tears after being publicly shamed by an Alaskan Airline flight attendant in August.
Sierra Stedman shared the ordeal in a series of TikTok videos, which have been viewed over 5 million times, after wearing a black crop top, grey hoodie and shorts to travel in.
In a video which Sierra filmed right after the unpleasant experience, she can be seen uncontrollably crying and clearly shaken up.
She writes: “I’ve never felt more degraded, ashamed, embarrassed, angry or sad. F ALASKA AIRLINES!!!”
Sierra captioned the clip: “When the flight attendant shames you in front of the whole plane and threatens to kick you off for what your wearing.”
In the comments of the video, Sierra claims that when she tried to walk away from the flight attendant because she was screaming in her face, they then viciously grabbed her arm.
She says this happened after she had already agreed with the flight attendant to zip up her hoodie for the duration of the flight.
Sierra also said: “Outfit appropriation set aside, there was no reason to physically & verbally assault me & humiliate me especially when I complied with her request.”
DISCRIMINATION
One woman claimed she was discriminated against for being a “fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman” after being kicked off a flight for wearing a crop top.
TikToker Ray Lin Howard says she was escorted off an Alaska Airlines flight and interviewed by police after a row erupted over her “inappropriate” outfit.
She said she was repeatedly “harrassed” by employees regarding her crop top and shorts, before sharing a viral video showing her sit down with officers.
Ray told how she had been wearing a sports bra after getting to her seat and was asked by a flight attendant to put a shirt on, to which she complied.
The 33-year-old was wearing a pink leopard print crop top with short-sleeves and a crew neck for the flight in September.
“Then they approached me again, saying I can’t wear this, my stomach is showing, and it’s inappropriate,” she continued.
Staff called the cops after approaching Ray for a third time.
She told the crew: “If you’re going to kick me off, kick me off. I’ve done what you asked me to do. I want you to leave me alone.”
The recording artist said she felt she was “discriminated against for being a fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman, which in turn left me full of emotions like anger, disappointment, helplessness, humiliation, and confusion”.
“Throughout my life as a fat person, I’ve had to deal with fatphobia, especially growing up in the Midwest, but not to this degree,” she added.
The officers seen in her clip agreed that Ray did not seem to have committed any offences after she explained the situation.
She later revealed in another TikTok video that the airline had called her to apologize and offered a discount code for future purchases.