My Health First

She was flying for a long time already, but this was the first time she ever got treated like this. She only wanted to go home to be with her kids when she got a very unpleasant surprise.

The Unpleasant Surprise

When she came to her gate ready to finally get home, this woman was denied her flight! They even had to forcibly remove her from the plane… And it was all because of her clothes.

Taking A Holiday

Harriet Osborne was a 31-year-old woman who just had a much-deserved vacation in the south of Spain for some fresh air, sun, and relaxation with her friends. She was taking time off her hectic life to get some peace of mind.

Break From Reality

She worked as a makeup artist back home in England and needed a break from the stress of juggling work while raising children. She desperately needed to cleanse her mind and get some sun and this was the perfect opportunity.

Vacation Attire

Harriet says back home she would never wear clothing that revealed her body, especially around her kids. However, while on vacation she wanted to dress more liberally. She was on holiday and she was feeling spontaneous.

Letting Loose

She spent the entire vacation feeling free. Walking around the beaches in nothing but a bikini without the worry of being judged. Little did she know that her trip would finish with tears.

Homesick

However, by the end of her stay, she was ready to go home to England after being away for some time. Armed with gifts for her loved ones, she was thrilled to get home as soon as possible

A Breather

She had a great time enjoying some freedom in a place far away from her home. She took in the lovely beaches and worked on her tan under the sun. It was the perfect, much-needed getaway.

Sea And Sun

Malaga is located in the Costa del Sol, which literally means ‘coast of the sun.’ The Southern Spain beach is always full of British tourists, and it is not hard to see why this tropical paradise got its name.

Something Missing

For the first time in a long while, Harriet was able to have a completely relaxing day at the beach with her best of friends. Still, it felt like there was something missing the entire time.

Far From Home

This was the perfect vacation spot since it is basically the opposite of the UK. Their seasons are opposite and she was able to escape from the cold winter of Britain and head to the hot sun. She could enjoy the blue skies instead of the UK’S grey, and she could easily layout on the sand for hours, something she could not do in the UK.

Their Last Day

She knew that the vacation will end and that she would have to return to Britain soon. With her bags packed, she was excited to be reunited with the kids once more. However, she wanted to fit in one last shopping spree.

Pampering Herself

Together with her friends, she took a cab and went to Av. De Andalucia to visit the high-end fashion shops there. She was so dazzled by the fashion selections there and had no clue that it was going to be the start of the worst day ever.

Her First Mistake

They stopped at El Corte Ingles, which was where she saw an awesome top in the display window. It was a sheer blouse, but her eyes popped in disbelief when she saw how much it was.

Encouragement

She was disappointed by what she saw and decided to drop it. However, a girlfriend of hers told her to at least try it on. How could she resist at this point! Especially if her friend was insisting.

No Harm

Her friends reminded her that they were on holiday. There was nothing wrong with trying this blouse, right? What harm could it really do! Harriet picked it up and brought it to the changing room.

Match Made In Heaven

She was shocked at how she looked in this top. It looked amazing on her, and there was no way she was going to forget about it. She charged it to her card, but she had no idea that it was going to be the source of controversy.

She Regrets It

With her bag in hand, she tried to forget all about how much the impulse buy cost her. Harried and her pals had a final lunch in Spain before they had to leave for the airport. Before checkout, she did a last survey of the hotel room.

Too Late

That was the moment she found the designer bag starting at her from the spot where she left it: a chair in the corner. She was overcome with a wave of nausea. Why did she buy it?

Crossed The Line

Even then, she had no clue what her next steps would result in one of the worst days of her life. She did not know that she crossed a line when she paid for the cute top.

Impulse Decisions

She would have to pay the price for what she did. Her impulse decision was the reason that she would be unable to fly that night. I think she will give her decisions some more thought next time. But what happened?

A Feminist

She was a feminist and believed that ladies should have the freedom to wear anything that they wanted. What she put on was no invitation for unwanted attention and catcalls. Why could men wear anything they want but her clothing would cause such chaos?

Unexpected Reaction

She did not play with fire when she was on her own at a club or party. Not once did she think that something like this would happen. She was just shopping with friends and then she got the shock of a lifetime.

Another Impulse

At any rate, she did buy it. There was no going back for her this time. She felt spontaneous and took the blouse out of the bag. She put it again and was impressed by how well it showed off her tan.

No Judgement Zone

She was on a vacation, right? She had no reason to be self-conscious in a foreign country where people did not even know her. At least this was what she had in mind, but the exact opposite is what happened

Ready To Go

She felt confident with the top taped in the places it needed to be. She was determined to make the best out of it. She went to the airport on time and checked in her luggage.

Last Stop

She went to the duty-free store and got even more gifts for her friends and family. At last, she heard the flight announcement through the speakers. Let us see what was in store for her when she tried to board her plane…

Where It Started

She could not help but feel sad when she went to the airport lounge and noticed all the families with their kids. The good thing was that she would finally be with her kids soon enough.

Smooth Sailing

A flight attendant looked at her passport, wished her a nice flight, and waved her down the tunnel. She was on her way until the moment she got to the airplane door. Then something happened that she never could have anticipated.

Denied Entry

There was an air hostess standing at the door. She greeted the passengers warmly as they got onto the plane. However, her face suddenly dropped upon seeing Harriet. As you can imagine, she was speechless.

Ignored It

Harriet was shocked by this treatment. It was not like she did anything to offend the other woman. Maybe they just mistook her for someone else. She shrugged it off and went in, only to get stopped by the same woman.

What Was Wrong?

The stewardess approached the rest of the flight attendants. They started to talk to one another using hushed tones. What could possibly be going on here? Harriet started to feel fear blossom in her chest as the minutes ticked by.

The Hesitation

The one who stopped her went over to tell her what the issue was. A million thoughts ran through Harriet’s mind as she pondered what could they be possibly discussing. What Harriet heard made her feel incredulous.

Mistaken Identity

Harriet didn’t understand what she did wrong. She was sure the woman had confused her with someone else. She hesitated and then waited for the Stewardess to speak to her. Meanwhile, her heart was racing.

Access Denied

“You’re not coming on my plane like that — you need to put a top on,” Harriet was told. After that, the flight attended tried to cover her up using her hands. Harriet was aware that it was a rather revealing top, but she made sure to tape it for the sake of modesty. So why was this happening to her?

The Issue

The stewardess informed her that she got complaints from other passengers about how inappropriate the top was. Keep in mind that Harriet had yet to board the plane at the time. She was annoyed by the way this stewardess talked to her.

Won’t Budge

She began arguing with the flight attendant then and there. She was humiliated and did not want to give in. When Harriet noticed that the woman just would not budge, she finally gave in.

But How?

Harriet did not necessarily believe this. She figured that it was the cabin staff who had the issue. She had not even stepped on the plane, who could she have offended or made anyone uncomfortable.

Embarrassed

She was annoyed and humiliated. Why did these people have the right to tell her what she can and can’t wear? All she wanted was to get home to her children so instead of fighting to prove herself, she grabbed a sweater from her bag.

Ashamed

As you can imagine, Harriet was ashamed that she got singled out like that in such a public place. She went over to her seat, but it was impossible to miss all the eyes that were on her.

Moving Foward

She tried to console herself by saying that at least she made it to the plane. Soon enough, she could forget it even happened. She was almost back with her family and that was all that mattered.

Seething In Anger

As she remained seated there, she couldn’t help but seethe in anger. She tried her best to remain calm but nothing was working She had flown many times in the past, but this was the first time she ever got treated like this.

Ticking Bomb

Harriet was indignant. She was trying to stay calm and quiet, but it was a very hard task. She was unable to hold back when the stewardess passed her by. She had so much to say and it was about to come out.

Telling Her Off

It was then that she raised her voice. Harriet informed the stewardess that she felt cheapened and mortified by what happened. She paid for a ticket like everyone else on the plane, so she had no idea why she got singled out for her clothes. Besides, none of the other staff had any problem with it.

Kicked Out

Once again, the airport staff huddled together and started whispering. It only made Harriet feel more worried. What could the problem be this time? She already covered up as requested. They then instructed her something that blew her away.

Victim

Harriet didn’t understand where all of this came from. To begin with, if there was an issue around her outfit, why hadn’t someone in the airport mention it? She was tired of feeling to blame and now began to worry.

The Last Straw

She was told that she needed to get out of the airplane. Understandably, this made Harriet even more infuriated. It meant that she would have no place to rest and would waste the ticket she paid for.

It Got Worse

After the conversation started to heat up, Harriet had to be removed from the airplane by security. She had no choice but to pass the night at the airport and essentially waste her $200 ticket.

Tantrum

In one interview, she said, “I just burst out crying.” She then noticed police officers coming her way. They told her that the cabin crew explained that Harriet got kicked out after her disruptive behavior. That can’t be good.

Pilot Escort

Even the pilot intervened. She watched as he spoke to the head stewardess and continued to look at Harriet. After the two spoke, she was forced to leave the flight. Harriet felt like she was in a nightmare.

No Choice

It was a good thing that the police officers saw her side of the story. They all agreed that she should not have gotten booted in the first place. Still, there was nothing to be done about her ticket.

Stuck

What was worse was that it was the last flight out. She had no money for a hotel room, so she had to sleep at the airport that day. The following day, Harriet made sure to dress modestly. Despite this, she was still mad.

Media Frenzy

When she got home, she made sure to talk to everyone about what she had to go through. News stations got wind of the story and swarmed her for interviews. Soon enough, the story went viral and caused a stir among men and women alike. Did she go too far?

Opposing Views

Here is what one person had to say: “She can wear whatever she wants… she is getting on a plane with peoples screaming brats. The stewards are not the fashion police they are there to serve you.”

Controversial

Some did not agree. A Facebook user said, “Why would any sensible person get on a plane wearing something like that? I mean, personally I wouldn’t care she was nude! But she’s not wearing “flying” clothes!”

Different Opinions

Netizens are not in agreement after they saw photos of Harriet in the outfit in question. Many agreed that it was just too revealing for the plane. Others begged to disagree and explained that it was up to her to wear whatever she wants. They said that no one had the right to make her feel ashamed for it.

Their Simple Request

The airline spoke out to defend themselves against the controversial situation.“We can confirm that a passenger traveling from Malaga to Stansted on 23 June was unable to travel due to behaving disruptively,” an EasyJet spokesperson informed Fox News.

Doesn’t Add Up

“Following concerns about her clothing crew politely requested that the customer wear an additional top for the flight which the customer agreed to.” But why did they ask Harriet to get off the plane after she complied in the end?

Lesson Learned

“However, she then proceeded to act disruptively towards a member of our crew,” the statement went on. “Our cabin and ground crew are trained to assess all situations and to act quickly and appropriately. We do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior towards our staff.”

The Lone Suitcase

This entire story happened just after easyJet flew an 88-year-old lady’s suitcase from Luton to Bordeaux. However, they left her behind at the airport itself. Joy Burton lives in Bedfordshire and arrived at easyJet’s home base with plenty of time for her flight to southwest France.

Family Visit

The reason she was flying to Bordeaux was to see her two sons. While one lived there, the other made a four-hour round trip from Canterbury to take her to the airport. He helped her check in her baggage and said goodbye to her as she went through security. This was all over 90 minutes before departure time.

Gone Wrong

However, something had gone wrong with the ground handling that’s supposed to provide special assistance. This led to Ms. Burton missing her flight. She was then told to wait another 90 minutes for her luggage – a suitcase and a walking aid – to be given back to her.

Finding Out

Eventually, the airline found out that the baggage was flown to Bordeaux even though she wasn’t on the plane. While all the baggage is scanned before the plane takes off, aviation security is meant to make sure that the bags are offloaded when a passenger checks in their luggage but doesn’t board the plane.

Another Flight

While the airline had another flight the next day, it was full. Ms. Burton was offered alternative flights, but the first direct one was two days later. Meaning she would have to wait another 48 hours.

Keeping Them Safe

The airline made sure to keep her bag and walking aid in Bordeaux to wait for her arrival. This meant she had mobility troubles at home while she waited to travel. In terms of the law, Ms. Burton should have immediately been told of her entitlement to £215 in compensation for being denied boarding.

Reaction

Joy’s son, Hugh, said: “In order to benefit from lower costs, we have all had to toughen up to deal with the vicissitudes and occasional indignities of the low-cost carriers. However, when my 88-year-old mother is treated by easyJet in such a thoughtless and unintelligent way, it shows that the care for old and vulnerable people has been washed away in the cost-cutting.”

Important Matter

He continued: “This needs to be addressed by their chief executive, as it cuts to the core of the values at the heart of the organization.” At the time, a spokesperson for the airline apologized, saying it “understands how difficult this will have been for her”.

Apology

The airline added: “EasyJet is very sorry that Ms. Burton was unable to travel from London Luton to Bordeaux on 22 May and understands how difficult this will have been for her. We know how crucial it is for our customers who require special assistance to feel confident when traveling and as such, we have urgently asked CCS [the assistance provider] and London Luton Airport to investigate what went wrong and ensure that lessons are learned.”

Compensation

They went on, “A member of our customer team is in touch with her concerning denied boarding compensation.  EasyJet carries over 500,000 passengers who needed special assistance every year. Last year the customer satisfaction amongst this group of passengers was 83 percent, 12 percentage points above all passengers. The safety and welfare of our passengers is always easyJet’s highest priority.”

More Stories

It turns out that easyJet has plenty of odd stories like this one. Another one claims that the airline forgot to board 29 passengers on a Malaga-Bristol flight. The passengers were still waiting to board when they were notified that their plane had already taken off.

On Hold

Their luggage was already in the hold when the plane left. One passenger, 58-year-old Lain Locke said that the group was “trapped” in the corridor at the boarding gate. “The stairwell was full, and people were getting on the plane, but then boarding seemed to stop,” he said.

Trapped

“After wondering what was going on, I looked through the doors onto the airport apron and the plane had gone. I turned round to the guy beside me and said ‘I don’t want to alarm you, but the plane has gone.” He added.

Raising The Alarm

“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “We were banging on the doors for about ten minutes trying to raise the alarm. It was a bit freaky being locked in there — especially for the people with young children.”

Issue

When asked about it, easyJet said that the incident was due to an “issue at the boarding gate”. Still, the airline contacted all the affected passengers and issued apologies. But will that be enough for them?

Launched Investigation

On top of all that, an investigation was launched and the passengers involved were given flight vouchers as well as a refund. The airline said that 19 of the passengers took up their offer to get a later flight to London.

In Spain

The other 10 passengers ended up staying in Spain on the airline’s expense and flew out to Bristol on a different day for no extra charge. What would you do if this had happened to you while traveling?

110 Passengers

Despite the fact that 110 passengers were already on the missed flight, somehow the crew didn’t notice they were missing 29 people. The reason this is so surprising is because once boarding cards have been issued, a person is automatically put on the list of people due to fly.

Aware

This means that the crew was fully aware that these passengers are in the building, they just didn’t realize that they hadn’t boarded the plane yet when it was taking off. It’s rather odd since there are so many people as part of the crew, but the fact remains that it happened.

Disneyland

To top it off, there is yet another story about easyJet. Jack Gray booked a trip to Disneyland with his 5-year-old son, Oliver, and his partner. Despite the fact that the family got to the airport at 4:30 am, they missed their 7:30 am flight due to confusion over the line to board.

Waiting

Mr. Gray said, “We were waiting for the fast-track passengers to board, but we hadn’t seen the normal passengers were queuing behind a pillar. It wasn’t signposted.” At the end of the day, the 28-year-old had to pay an extra £244 for seats on the 6:30 pm flight to Paris.

How?

So, how did they miss their flight in the first place? They checked in fine and were waiting around for boarding. At 6:50 am, they released the gate number they had to be at. By 6:55 am, the family was at the gate.

Fast-Track

The trio saw a big sign for the fast-track line. Since they had normal tickets, they thought the flight was boarding fast passes first. And so, they waited. At 7:05 am, the board said that the gate closed at 7 am. Wait, what?

Running Behind

The family was sure that the flight was simply running behind schedule. A minute later, once all the lines were through the gate, the family went to the help desk to get an update. “As we got there, the doors were closing,” Mr. Gray said. “The women at the desk said we’d missed our flight.”

Missed Flight

Baffled, the father asked how they could have missed their flight. There were no signs to point them to the normal queue! How would they have known when to get on the plane? “One of the women said she’d radio through to try and get us on, but the departure people on the other end said no.” Mr. Gray said.

Bus Ride

An employee at the desk then said that there might be a bus that could take the family to the plane. “The woman radioed through again and I heard her say, ‘I already told them you said no, so it’s down to you.’” Mr. Gray continued.

Unhappy

The family was not happy about this turn of events. They became very frustrated at the way that the airline handled the situation. Mr. Gray said that easyJet staff told him that the last call wasn’t done on the speaker system due to a “silent airport” policy.

Information Desk

Then, Mr. Gray said that at the Bristol Airport information desk an employee told him that there was no such policy at the airport. On top of that, the information desk later told him that the gate had shut at 7:12 am, not 7:06 am.

New Tickets

At the end of the day, the family had to order new tickets online for £244, on top of the £360 they originally paid for the tickets. “We have lost a day at Disneyland,” Mr. Gray said. “We were going to have two and a half days there, now it will just be one and a half.”

Airline Spokesperson

As for the airline, a spokesperson said: “We are sorry Mr. Gray and his family missed their flight to Paris on December 9 but we do not accept that this was as a result of inadequate signage. There are 100 digital screens positioned throughout the terminal, including at each boarding gate where airline staff is also on hand to help with any queries from passengers.”