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American Airlines Apologizes for Forcing Doctor to Cover Up With a Blanket

When you’re on vacation, you dress lighter, more casually, and one woman from Houston, Texas, thought the same applied to flying back home from a holiday location. American Airlines didn’t agree.
The romper that American Airlines cabin crew deemed "inappropriate" 10 photos
Photo: Twitter / Tisha Rowe
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The airline company has issued a formal apology to Dr. Latisha Rowe, whose social media posts on what she says was basically racial discrimination went viral. The demand from the airline staff that Rowe cover up with a blanket for the entire duration of the flight drew the ire of thousands of commenters, many of whom have promised to boycott the airline in the future.

Rowe and her 8-year-old son were flying to Miami, Florida, after a vacation in Kingston, Jamaica. They boarded the plane and Rowe was asked to de-plane, only to be informed at the gate that cabin crew had deemed her outfit “inappropriate.” She insists that the strapless romper covered up all her assets and that white women and men board planes with skimpier outfits and no one bats an eye.

Rowe tried to argue that there was nothing out of the ordinary about the romper, but she was threatened she wouldn’t be allowed to fly at all if she didn’t cover up. Because she didn’t have a jacket on hand and because she noticed her son was on the verge of tears, she agreed to use one of the blankets cabin crew had at their disposal. Then, she was asked to keep it on her for the entire duration of the flight.

“When an educated black woman dresses for the occasion (island attire) she is vulgar and asked to cover up… We are policed for being black. Our bodies are oversexualized as women and we must ADJUST to make everyone around us comfortable,” Rowe writes. “I’ve seen white women with much shorter shorts board a plane without a blink of an eye. I guess if it’s a ‘nice a**’ …it’s okay.”

Rowe says her son was so humiliated he spent the entire flight with his head under the blanket.

In a statement to People Magazine, American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson acknowledges the incident and apologizes for it.

“We were concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments, and reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred,” Gilson says. “We apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel.”

Like many other airlines, American has a “contract of carriage” passengers agree on when they buy tickets. It mentions not being able to board a plane with bare feet or offensive clothes, and urges passengers to “dress appropriately,” but that’s as specific as it gets.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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