A woman was removed from an American Airlines flight because they found her outfit inappropriate.
She posted about the incident on twitter which sparked outrage.
Tisha Rowe, 37, is a family medicine physician based in Texas was flying from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami and a flight attendant told her to ‘deplane for a talk.’
She tweeted: ‘’Here is what i was wearing when @AmericanAir asked me to deplane for a talk. At which point I was asked to “cover up.” When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket. #notsofriendlyskies.’’
Tisha told Buzzfeed News that she and her son who is eight years old were guided outside the aircraft and they asked her if she has a jacket.
She replied: “No, I don’t.”
After this, the flight attendant told her that she could not board the plane as her romper was too revealing.
Here is what i was wearing when @AmericanAir asked me to deplane for a talk. At which point I was asked to “cover up”. When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket. #notsofriendlyskies pic.twitter.com/AYQNNriLcq
ADVERTISEMENT — Tisha Rowe MD, MBA (@tisharowemd) July 1, 2019
“I felt powerless,” Rowe said. “There was nothing I could do in that moment other than give up my money and my seat to defend my position that I was completely appropriate.”
She covered up her waist with a blanket provided by the crew.
“To me, there was never an ounce of empathy, an ounce of apology, any attempt to maintain my dignity throughout the situation,” she said.
Shannon Gilson, a spokesperson for American Airlines, said in a statement, “We were concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments, and reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred,”
“We want to personally apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us.”
American Airlines’ carriage policy order passengers to “dress appropriately, bare feet or offensive clothing aren’t allowed.”
“Of course… Dr. Rowe, like the rest of the passengers, was flying from Kingston, Jamaica, to Miami, Florida, in June,” her attorney, Geoffrey Berg, told BuzzFeed News. “If American Airlines wanted passengers from Jamaica to Florida in June to wear snowsuits, that’s something they ought to put in their contract.”