In a highly criticised incident, a British woman was shamed for the attire she was wearing on a Thomas Cook flight from Birmingham to Tenerife. She claimed that she was told to "cover up and leave" the flight for wearing inappropriate clothing. The woman was wearing a black crop top and a pair of high-waisted pants in yellow. The woman named Emily O’Connor she that she was accused of "causing offence" on board a Thomas Cook flight and was surrounded by "four flight staff" who tried to remove her from the flight. Florida Man Accused of Groping a Woman on Southwest Airline Says, ‘Trump Says It’s Okay.’
In a Twitter threat she explained her ordeal saying, "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."
She also created a poll asking people about the "appropriate flying wear" Her tweet read, "I informed the staff that there is no “appropriate wear” policy stipulated online. I stood up on the flight and asked if anyone was offended, no-one said a word.
Would really appreciate if you could vote and share on the below!"
She further went ahead to explain how the crew allowed a man "hurl abuse" at her whilst the "Flight manager and 4 air staff stood and said nothing." The 21-year-old went on give more context to explanation and said that she "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..."
She put up in the tweet that she "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." Moreover, a man then shouted "Shut up you pathetic woman. Put a f*cking jacket on"- the staff said nothing to him.
Ms O’Connor said she was left "physically shaking" following the alleged incident. She explained: "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."
Here are the tweets from Ms O’Connor:
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
Ms O’Connor’s tweet garnered a lot of support online, and the airlines did receive its share of backlash. Love Island star Gabby Allen came to support Emily and retweeted her tweet with a caption that read: "It’s safe to say, I will never fly with Thomas Cook again."
Here's the tweet from Gabby Allen:
It’s safe to say, I will never fly with Thomas Cook again. 🤦🏼♀️
— 🔅GABBY ALLEN🔅 (@gabbydawnallen) March 12, 2019
Thomas Cook’s 'Appropriate Attire' guidelines read: "Customers wearing inappropriate attire (including items with offensive slogans or images) will not be permitted to travel unless a change of clothes is possible. Footwear must be worn on the aircraft."
Thomas Cook is later said to have apologised in a statement to ES. The airline said: "We are sorry that 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."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 14, 2019 04:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).