“The flight attendants were being critical of the attractive passengers.”
Spirit Airlines is facing criticism after several women were reportedly removed from a flight because of their attire. A witness to the incident shared her perspective on TikTok. User Meenu (@_minakumari) posted a video that has since gone viral, garnering over half a million views and thousands of comments as of now.
The clip was created in reaction to another video posted by a woman named Tara, who was removed from the flight along with several others.
What occurred on the flight?
According to Meenu, she was on a Spirit Airlines flight at LAX Airport with her parents. Everything appeared normal until flight attendants approached passengers seated in a nearby aisle with what seemed like an unusual request.
“You need to cover up now,” Meenu recounted the flight attendant saying. The airline staff approached one of the women, Tara Kehidi because someone had reportedly complained about her outfit. “It wasn’t just one person who approached these girls once,” Meenu clarified. “There was a lot of harassment.” She noted that the woman was taken aback by the request and added that the plane’s air conditioning was off, making the flight uncomfortable.
“Why should I cover up, and who complained about my outfit?” Meenu said the woman asked the flight attendant. Eventually, another airline employee approached her and made the same request. According to Meenu, this caused significant displeasure and shock among other passengers, some of whom spoke up in support of the woman. One lady even removed her own sweatshirt as a sign of solidarity. Despite this, the crew decided to turn the flight around and return to the airport. Meenu reported that a Spirit Airlines supervisor then boarded the plane and instructed the woman and her friend, Teresa Araujo, to exit the aircraft.
In an email to the Daily Dot, Meenu stated, “I reached out to Spirit on October 7th regarding the incident, but I did not receive a response. Spirit has not sent out any communication about what occurred on the flight.”
Customers Allegedly Removed for Wearing Crop Tops
In a video posted on October 4, Teresa, one of the passengers who was taken off the flight, shared a clip of the incident. The caption read, “In October 2024 in the USA, the land of freedom, we were kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight for wearing crop tops! I can’t stop crying. Please share this.”
In the clip, she incredulously asked, “He’s going to turn back to the gate because you’re not wearing a sweater?” Both she and her friends were dressed in crop tops.
The Daily Dot reached out to Spirit Airlines for comments and further information regarding this incident.
Women Advocating for Bodily Autonomy
In light of the ongoing struggle for women’s rights over their bodies, this encounter is particularly troubling. Recently, Trump supporters have adopted the slogan “your body, my choice” to undermine women’s autonomy online.
The removal of these women from the flight for their crop tops underscores the persistent societal policing of women’s bodies, often based on subjective standards of appropriateness. Abortion rights remain a significant issue across the country.
