28 October 2023 , 08:30
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A woman wearing a "low-cut" bodysuit was booted from a flight with low-cost airline Vueling, and after coming under fire for removing her from the plane, the airline insisted their decision was influenced by her bad attitude, not her outfit.
The passenger's sister hit out at the airline in a furious rant on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the time of the incident in 2019, as she said they had banned her sibling from getting on the plane "simply for wearing a low cut" top.
But Vueling said it was her "abusive" attitude toward flight attendants that got her kicked off her flight.
This is the outfit the passenger was wearingVideo footage shared on social media showed the moment the young woman was stopped by an air steward before her friends gave her items to cover up with. She was still denied access and sent back to the terminal where police arrived.
The woman, who is Spanish, was intending to fly with her boyfriend for a break in Barcelona but neither made it. The incident happened as people were boarding a flight from Palma in Mallorca to the mainland.
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In her rant on social media at the time, the woman's sister wrote: "Today the marvellous company @vueling has forbidden the boarding of my sister simply for wearing a low-cut body. Several people have left clothes for her to 'cover up' but they still have not let her board." The sister also hit out at the airline and added: "If you don't know how to differentiate a body from a swimsuit, it's your business."
According to Spanish newspaper Ideal.es, the woman was wearing a denim mini-skirt on top of the black bodysuit, teamed with a pair of trainers. She reportedly jokingly offered to cover up with a sarong when confronted and believes the stewards took offence.
Vueling replied to the sister's outburst on social media, saying its travel conditions applied to men and women alike "to defend and protect the safety of all passengers on board, to regulate their behaviour for the benefit of all".
The airline told the Mirror: "Vueling's conditions of carriage are designed to defend and protect the safety of all passengers on board and to regulate their behaviour for the benefit of all, as of the majority of collective transportation, and that is equally applied to men and women.
"These conditions of carriage enable the airline to deny access to passengers whose behaviour does not adapt to it. The passenger was wearing a swimsuit. The response given to the handling agent’s request was abusive, this being the only reason why it was decided to call the competent authorities and that she could not fly."
Other passengers said they hadn't been offended by her outfit and had seen worse on airlines. An eyewitness claimed she'd seen the issue unfold and said the girl seemed 'inoffensive' not abusive. One alleged an air steward said the front of the bodysuit was okay but the low-cut back had criss-cross straps which would have cut into the seat.