While packing is usually the main clothing concern for airborne-bound travelers, Spirit Airlines wants them to think twice about how they dress.
The low-budget carrier updated its “Code of Carriage” with specifics about how passengers could be barred from traveling. Reasons for being left behind at the boarding gate include being barefoot, inadequately clothed (i.e. see-through clothing, not adequately covered, exposed breasts, buttocks or other private parts), according to Spirit Airlines’ revised policy.
Who decides if a passenger’s attire meet those definitions remains a question mark, as well as what defines an offensive tattoo, since a media request to Spirit Airlines was not immediately returned Friday.
Last week John Garcia Jr. was bounced from a Los Angeles-San Antonio Spirit Airlines flight for wearing a hooded sweatshirt imprinted with an obscenity on the front and the back of the garment. The 43-year-old posted a photo of himself on Facebook on the plane wearing the hoodie.
The airline has had other issues as of late. Last week Spirit revealed plans to cut 200 jobs, after filing for bankruptcy in November. And earlier this week, Spirit announced that it has secured pledges from key lenders for up to $300 million. Spirit Airlines’ main hub is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Last fall, Tara Kenhidi and her friend were asked to deplane a Spirit flight for wearing crop tops. But other airlines have had clothing-related issues, too. In 2022, model, influencer and former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo had to cover up her sports bra and bike shorts on an American Airlines flight. After her sister Aurora, who was traveling with her, posted about the incident, American Airlines faced pushback.
Meanwhile, other airlines are keeping an eye on how passengers dress. Asked for comment about Spirit’s policy and whether Southwest Airlines is considering a similar one, Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson for Southwest, said, “Southwest doesn’t have an official dress code, but some provisions are mentioned in our Contract of Carriage.” A guest shall not be permitted to board the aircraft or may be required to leave an aircraft if that guest is “engaging in lewd, obscene, or patently offensive behavior, including wearing clothes that are lewd, obscene or patently offensive.”
Lunsford did not respond to a follow-up request asking what would constitute “lewd clothing” and who at Southwest would determine that.
Media requests to American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and Breeze were not acknowledged Friday.
Joe Leader, chief executive officer of the Airline Passenger Experience Association, said Friday, “Spirit Airlines’ move to underline common sense standards aligns with the protocol taken by every major U.S. airline striving to enhance their guest experience. By ensuring baseline clothing attire and visible messages remain thoughtful of others onboard, Spirit underscores the importance of fostering a welcoming environment for all passengers — from leisure flyers to business travelers. While customers should enjoy the low fares of Spirit, it should not mean that the airline should have to have lesser passenger courtesy standards than other air carriers.”
Fashion designer Stan Herman, the former president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, knows a good deal about airport attire, having designed uniforms for nine airlines including TWA, Eastern, United, US Airways, and Wien Air Alaska. He has also designed uniforms for JetBlue since the carrier’s inception and continues to do so. Herman said Friday of Spirit’s decision, “Although I don’t know enough about the specific policies and reasons, the spirit of determining what is offensive and inappropriate to whom and who gets to judge that in a free democracy can take us down a dark slope.”
Revealing clothing can be detrimental for flight attendants, however. In 2014, Cathay Pacific had to nix the short blouses and tight skirts that served as uniforms for female flight attendants due to reports of in-flight sexual harassment. The uniforms were redesigned after an appeal was made to the airline’s management by the Flight Attendants Union, which represents the cabin crew for Cathay Pacific.
