Airlines give many reasons for refusing to let you board, but none stir as much debate as this: How you’re dressed. A woman flying from Las Vegas on Southwest this spring says she was confronted by an airline employee for showing too much cleavage.
In another recent case, an American Airlines pilot lectured a passenger because her T-shirt bore a four-letter expletive. She was allowed to keep flying after draping a shawl over the shirt.
Both women told their stories to sympathetic bloggers, and the debate over what you can wear in the air went viral. It’s not always clear what’s appropriate. Airlines don’t publish dress codes. There are no rules that spell out the highest hemline or the lowest neckline allowed. That can leave passengers guessing how far to push fashion boundaries. Every once in a while the airline says: Not that far.
Kenneth Quinn, an aviation lawyer and former chief counsel at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says, "since airlines and their planes are private property and not a public space like the courthouse steps, crews can tell you what to wear."
If passengers don’t follow crew instructions, they could be accused of interfering with a flight crew — a federal crime. He says passengers should wait until they’re off the plane to file complaints with the airline, the U.S. Department of Transportation or in small-claims court.
“They have this omnipotent power,” “You shouldn’t argue your case while you’re on the airplane. You’re in a no-win scenario — you will be arrested."
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