Two travellers say they were left ‘mortified’ when airline staff ‘forced’ them to change outfits after they were deemed ‘inappropriate’.
YouTubers and comedians Chrissie Mayr and Keanu Thompson were flying from Las Vagas to Dallas via American Airlines when they were told by staff that they had to ‘get out of their pants’ before boarding the cross-country flight.
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The pair were wearing similar outfits that consisted of crop tops, wide-leg pants, and a high-waisted maxi skirt with a large thigh slit.
However, airport staff reportedly told Mayr and Thompson that they ‘had to change their pants at the gate’ and were each 'forced' to wear a pair of shorts instead of their chosen outfits.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Mayr said that the ordeal was ‘mortifying’ and that she knows it 'wouldn’t have happened to us if we were trans, or obese or people of colour'.
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She continued: “[The airline staff] didn’t say what was wrong with our pants, the man at the gate just touched me on the arm and said ‘Come with me, I need to speak with you… You have to change your pants’.
“It was such a panicked situation, I felt like I had to instantly do what he said or else we wouldn’t be allowed to board the plane. We also had plans to do appearances in Austin the next day (we’re comedians) so we didn’t want to be delayed.”
Furthermore, Mayr said that she wished the Las Vegas airport staff had gone about the situation differently, and perhaps handled it in a more delicate manner.
“I wish he had said, ‘Ladies take a few minutes to go to the bathroom and find something else to wear’, but he didn’t specify why [the outfits] were inappropriate,” she stated.
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“Nor did he tell us what else would be okay to put on. So I just grabbed the first thing in my luggage which was a couple of pairs of shorts.”
Mayr went on to say that before heading to the airport gate, the pair had had their hand luggage screened through security and were given the all-clear to load it onboard their flight.
“All our other luggage had been checked [in]. Then the other gate attendant told me that the [hand luggage] bag needed to be checked as well because there was no more overhead space left. So we had no way to change into something else on the plane,” Mayr added.
Following the horrific ordeal, Mayr said that she did receive an apology from an American Airlines customer relations employee.
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As per Daily Mail, the letter read: “While I am very sorry to learn you and Ms. Thompson didn’t have the best experience travelling out of Las Vegas recently, I do greatly appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your concerns.”
“I have thoroughly documented the details you shared with me so they can be reviewed by appropriate leadership,” the document allegedly continued.
Mayr then said that the best course of action would be to have American Airlines apologise to the comedic duo for 'having a male employee make us feel like we had to get undressed at the gate in front of everyone'.
LADbible has reached out to American Airlines for comment.
Ella Scott