Spirit Airlines under fire: Passengers removed over crop tops

Two women were removed from the plane for wearing so-called crop tops, which are very short tops that reveal the stomach and part of the back. The airline justified its decision by citing its regulations.

Two passengers, Tara Kehidi and Teresa Araujo, were removed from a Spirit Airlines flight before departing from Los Angeles to New Orleans. According to the cabin crew, the issue was inappropriate attire. The airline stated that the women's clothing might have violated the dress code rules that each person accepts when purchasing a ticket. However, the passengers believe they did not break any rules.

According to the "Daily Mail," the incident occurred when the women took off their sweaters due to the board heat, revealing their crop tops. A crew member noticed and asked them to cover up again.

"My friend and I had a terrible experience on Friday on the flight 387 from Lax to New Orleans with @spiritairlines," Teresa wrote in a post on Instagram. "We were harassed by a male flight attendant who told us to 'cover-up' because we were wearing crop tops."

Both passengers were surprised and asked for an explanation of why their attire was a problem. The conflict quickly escalated, and in the end, they were removed from the plane despite finally declaring that they would put their sweaters back on. To make matters worse, they did not receive a ticket refund. Desperate, they turned to Spirit Airlines' customer service, where they learned that wearing crop tops is not explicitly prohibited in the regulations.

However, the airline pointed out that all passengers must accept the so-called "Contract of Carriage" when booking a ticket. This document, which includes clothing regulations, states that individuals who are "insufficiently dressed" or wearing clothing deemed obscene can be removed from the plane. Interestingly, there are no specific references to crop tops as inappropriate attire in the conduct section.

Tara and Teresa described the situation as an abuse of power and filed a complaint against the airline. As they explained, they still covered their stomachs and necklines after removing their sweaters due to the heat. They believe the flight crew acted unfairly and that the decision to remove them from the flight was arbitrary. Moreover, another passenger, Carla Hager, was also removed for a similar reaction—seeing what was happening, she removed her sweater in solidarity with the women and was also forced to leave the plane.

Spirit Airlines announced they do not refund money to passengers removed from flights. Tara and Teresa were forced to spend an additional $1,000 on a new ticket with another carrier. They emphasize that the whole situation ruined the planned trip, which was supposed to be a birthday present for Tara.

Spirit Airlines has yet to officially comment on the details of the contract. However, according to the document, grossly inappropriate clothing can be a reason for removing a passenger from the plane.