United Airlines made waves this weekend after booting two young passengers from a flight and requiring a third to change into a dress because they were wearing leggings.
It all started when a gate agent stopped the passengers from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis and deemed their clothing inappropriate. They were asked to either change or miss the plane, and while the two older teens didn’t have spare clothes handy, the 10-year-old passenger had a dress in her carry-on that she was able to pull on over her outfit. The story went viral after bystander Shannon Watts overheard the commostion and started tweeting about what had happened.
3) Gate agent for flt 215 at 7:55. Said she doesn't make the rules, just follows them. I guess @united not letting women wear athletic wear?
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
United defended the agent’s decision, pointing out that the girls were “pass travelers”—friends and family of United employees who are sometimes able to fly standby for free as long as they comply with company policies. One of those policies, apparently, is a dress code that prohibits the wearing of leggings. The airline spent a great deal of time on Twitter trying to explain the nuances of the situation to people, but it was to no avail. Friends of the company or not, the idea that a 10-year-old in stretch pants might somehow be too risque for public struck a nerve with a lot of celebrities.
Actor Patricia Arquette seemed to lead the charge:
https://twitter.com/PattyArquette/status/846034020047597569
https://twitter.com/PattyArquette/status/846043311676710912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fjezebel.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-846043311676710912%26autosize%3D1
https://twitter.com/PattyArquette/status/846043567030095872
Soon other public figures were sharing their thoughts as well:
See? 👇🏻 I've done it before! 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/MC6P144kjL
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/846066710171926529
Lololol I'm never flying @united again. Not allowing a 10 year old child on your flight for wearing leggings? … what a joke.
— Abigail Breslin (SOPHOMORE) (@yoabbaabba) March 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/NickBolton13/status/846048691777527808
Hey @united I fly a LOT. About to go on tour all April and changing all my @united flights to other airlines
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) March 26, 2017
yeah. They are only trying to treat the teenage daughters of their employees like shit. Not everyone else.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) March 26, 2017
I applaud @united for making those girls change their leggings. Nothing on a plane offends me more than a comfortable woman.
— Jim Norton (@JimNorton) March 27, 2017
.@united I have flown numerous times while displaying an egregious mooseknuckle. What's a male over 10 have to do to get noticed?
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) March 26, 2017
Whether the policy changes is yet to be seen, but in the meantime, it seems United has lost some high-profile clients.
H/T Jezebel