Your support helps us to tell the story
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Four passengers, including one toddler, were supposedly forced to deboard a Spirit Airlines plane because two of the passengers wore crop tops.
Spirit Airlines passenger Teresa posted a series of videos on October 6, in which she detailed her experience before she was taken off the aircraft. In her now-viral post on Instagram, Teresa claimed a “sexist” male flight attendant forced her and her friend to go back to the gate because of their outfits.
“Hi friends! This is usually not the type of post I share on here but wanted to share my story because I’m still in shock,” she wrote. “My friend and I had a terrible experience on Friday on the flight 387 from Lax to New Orleans with @spiritairlines. We were harassed by a male flight attendant who told us to ‘cover-up’ because we were wearing crop tops.”
The first video shared by Teresa showed her sitting next to her friend on the plane. Teresa could be seen wearing a white spaghetti-strap tank top with a green and white striped sweater placed over her chest. The two travelers rwere wearing their sweaters when they boarded the plane, but reportedly removed them once they were on the aircraft because they were too hot.
According to Teresa, everyone “including flight staff” agreed that her and her friend’s crop tops weren’t “against their dress code,” despite the male flight attendant’s complaint.
“He then continued to treat us poorly and give us no reasoning as to why he wanted to kick us off,” she said of the male attendant. “Other passengers joined in and tried defending us but ultimately a supervisor liked to us and told either we would leave the flight or she would bring the police.”
Before they left the plane, the supervisor allegedly promised them she would rebook their flights. However, Teresa claimed the supervisor said there were no flights and refused to give them a refund once the women were off the plane.
In the videos on the plane, the Spirit Airlines staff members could be heard asking the passengers to stop recording the interaction.
Teresa and her friend were supposedly joined by a mother and her toddler walking off the plane. According to Teresa’s account, the mother and her child were “kicked out” with them, but she didn’t explain why.
“You’re going to remove us from the plane? Even my baby?” the mother could be heard asking the Spirit Airlines staff in Teresa’s second video.
“This is appalling service, that in 2024 we are getting kicked out of a plane for ONE MALE flight attendant not liking our shirts,” Teresa’s Instagram caption continued. “Everyone working at the airport agreed this was an act of prejudice, discrimination and misogynist and that we should take legal actions.
“We spoke with the police which said the same. We were refused their full names, a refund, rebooked flights or anything all because of a sexist and rude flight attendant.”
Teresa also alleged that she had to spend $1,000 to rebook another flight with a different airline.
The following videos posted to Teresa’s Instagram presented a compilation of varying passenger perspectives on the plane. One woman claimed the male flight attendant was threatening to stop the plane unless Teresa put her shirt back on.
“There’s also another woman next to her with a toddler, looks like she, the toddler, is under three years old, and she will be taken off the plane as well,” the woman said, turning the camera to show the mother in a gray tank top.
Teresa concluded her Instagram post with a series of screenshots, which included messages from supposed passengers who were on the plane with her. Both messages seemed to indicate each passenger thought the male flight attendant was out of line for forcing them off the plane.
In a statement sent to The Independent, a representative for Spirit Airlines said: “Our Contract of Carriage, a document all Guests agree to upon making a reservation with us, includes certain clothing standards for all Guests traveling with us. We are investigating the matter, and we are in contact with the Guests about their experience.”
The Contract of Carriage, as published on Spirit Airlines’ website, states that any passenger may be forced to leave the aircraft if said traveler is “inadequately clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive in nature.”
The Independent has contacted Teresa for a comment.
