Social media went wild over the weekend when someone revealed that United Airlines had prevented some young girls from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings.
Shannon Watts of Denver hit the tweets complaining about how United was “policing” women & girl’s clothing after they forced several girls to cover up their leggings.
The net went wild with outrage that an airline would have the audacity to govern travel attire but Watts left out crucial information in her tweets…
The young ladies were flying under buddy passes and in doing so, were subjected to the same dress code as employees.
Details below…
Shannon Watts hit the tweets yesterday with the following:
A 10-year-old girl in gray leggings. She looked normal and appropriate. Apparently @united is policing the clothing of women and girls. https://t.co/RKsIFoE8pq
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017
Outrage ensued on social media as many protested and declared they would soon boycott the airline for policing women’s attire.
But wait… Watt’s failed to mention that the girls, whose ages were not specified, were not allowed onto the morning flight because they were traveling under an employee travel pass that includes a specific dress code!
United responded with the following:
@shannonrwatts In our Contract of Carriage, Rule 21, we do have the right to refuse transport for passengers who … https://t.co/52kRVgaCyb
— United (@united) March 26, 2017
@SarahKSilverman The attire of the teenage pass travelers did not meet our policy for company benefit travel. ^KP
— United (@united) March 26, 2017
Employees and their families and friends who travel under the pass are obligated to conform to a dress code because they are representing the airlines. The dress code bars pass travelers from wearing spandex or Lycra pants such as leggings.
In this situation, the teenagers agreed to change their clothing and take a later flight, but the airline’s actions sparked a quick backlash on Twitter from many who were unaware of the rules of travel.
Just for the record, several other airlines, including Delta, have the same policies when it comes to employee travel benefits.