Spirit Airlines is facing backlash after several women were allegedly removed from a flight due to their clothing. A woman who said she was a witness to the encounter took to TikTok to give her version. User Meenu (@_minakumari) shared her take in a now-viral video. It has amassed over half a million views and thousands of comments as of this writing.
The clip was made in response to another video uploaded by a woman named Tara, who was ejected from the flight along with others.
What happened on the flight?
According to Meenu, she was aboard a Spirit Airlines flight at the LAX Airport with her parents. All seemed fine until flight attendants approached passengers seated in a nearby aisle with a seemingly strange request.
“You need to cover up now,” Meenu said the flight attendant instructed.
The airline workers approached one of the women, Tara Kehidi, because someone allegedly complained about her clothes.
“It wasn’t just one person who just came up to these girls once,” Meenu explained. “It was a lot of harassment.”
Meenu explained that the woman was shocked by the request. She also said the plane’s AC was not on, so the flight was hot.
“Why would I cover myself up, and who was complaining about my outfit?” Meenu said the woman asked the flight attendant.
Eventually, another airline worker approached the woman and made the same request.
According to Meenu, that generated a lot of displeasure and shock on the flight from other passengers. Some even spoke up in defense of the woman. Another lady took off her own sweatshirt as a gesture of solidarity.
That didn’t stop the workers from turning the flight around and returning to the airport. Then, Meenu said a Spirit Airlines supervisor boarded the plane and instructed the woman and her friend, Teresa Araujo, to leave the aircraft.
In an email to the Daily Dot, Meenu said, “I emailed Spirit on October 7th about the incident and I did not receive a response. Spirit did not send out any email regarding what happened on the flight.”
Customers allegedly ejected for wearing crop tops
In a video uploaded on Oct. 4, Teresa, one of the customers who was removed from the flight, uploaded a clip of the encounter.
“October of 2024 in USA , the land of fredom and we got kicked out of Spirits Airplane plane for wearing crop tops! I can’t stop crying. Blow this up,” the video’s caption read.
“He’s gonna go back to the gate over you not wearing a sweater?” she asked incredulously in that clip.
Both she and her friends were wearing crop tops.
The Daily Dot contacted Spirit Airlines for comment and more information about this exchange.
Women fighting for a right to their bodies
In the context of the ongoing battle for women’s rights to their bodies, this encounter feels especially disturbing.
Lately, Trump supporters have used the slogan “your body, my choice” to attack women and their bodily autonomy online.
The ejection of the women from the flight for wearing crop tops highlights the ongoing societal policing of women’s bodies, often tied to subjective notions of appropriateness.
Abortion rights also continue to be a major issue across the nation.
@_minakumari_ Never thought I would witness something like this 👀 Originally stitched this video from @Tara but had to reupload because of audio issues. #spiritairlines #spirit #storytime @Spirit Airlines ♬ original sound – Meenu
Commenters respond
In the comments section, one of the women who was allegedly involved in the incident responded.
“Omg thank you for posting this. I’m crying because some people don’t believe us. I remember your dad being so sweet,” user Teresa Around the [globe emoji] said.
Others accused the airline workers of wrongfully targeting the women.
“Them flight attendants was hating on the baddies,” user Joshdifferent wrote.
Some questioned if there are even rules or regulations that dictate what passengers can wear on flights.
“Never seen a dress code anywhere on planes site – how can they enforce this?” user Jo asked.
“As someone who literally wrote flight safety directives for the FAA for 8 years, the federal regulations for in-flight apparel are around what flight staff can wear i.e. not flammable/combustible,” user getti_getti912 said.
Do flights have dress codes for passengers?
Major United States airlines have clauses in their “contract of carriage” about passenger attire. Typically, they state passengers must wear appropriate attire. However, the definition of “appropriate” is typically pretty vague.
This has led to multiple allegations of passengers being targeted by different airlines because of their clothing choices.
The Daily Dot reached out to Teresa Araujo by TikTok comment and direct message.
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