A woman was reportedly stopped from boarding a JetBlue flight in Boston because her shorts were deemed “too short”.
KIRO News 7 reports that burlesque performer Maggie McMuffin was waiting at the gate for a Boston to Seattle flight when she was told she could not board.
Speaking to the news outlet, Maggie said a flight attendant told her: “The flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that I needed to put something else on or I would not be allowed to board the flight”.
Maggie said that she flew from New York to Boston earlier that day and went through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint earlier that day and there were no issues with her outfit.
However when she queried this, she was told: “It was the pilot’s final say so these are official rules that can be broken”.
She then had to go buy a makeshift outfit (sleep trunks) in the airport shopping area in order to have something “appropriate” to wear on board.
Jet Blue 7 has released the below statement on the matter:
“The gate and on board crew discussed the customer’s clothing and determined that the burlesque shorts may offend other families on the flight. While the customer was not denied boarding, the crew members politely asked if she could change. The customer agreed and continued on the flight without interruption.
“We support our crew members’ discretion to make these difficult decisions, and we decided to reimburse the customer for the cost of the new shorts and offered a credit for future flight as a good will gesture.”
Her friend, Molly McIssac, later went on Facebook to inform her social media friends of Maggie’s situation:
That post reads:
“This is Maggie McMuffin. Maggie is a burlesque performer and also a friend. This is what she was wearing last week when JetBlue told her she was dressed inappropriately and couldn’t board the flight from Boston to Seattle she had paid for. She was connecting in Boston from NYC, also a JetBlue flight – which had no issues with the way she was dressed.
“No explanation was given except that the pilot said her clothes would prevent her boarding the plane. The flight lead asked if she had anything else to wear, and told her if she didn’t they could rebook the flight for her. Maggie ended up having to go to another terminal to buy a pair of women’s sleep shorts in XL for “proper coverage”.
“Despite contacting Jet Blue at length, all they have done to “make it right” is refund her for the swim trunks and give her less than $200 in credit. The company apologized but the pilot did not. They have not offered any explanation for their behaviour.
“Sexism is alive and well in this world. How does what Maggie was wearing effect her ability to fly? It doesn’t.
“Please share this status. Make this go viral. Maggie did not deserve to be treated like this.”
