A recent incident has put American Airlines in a negative spotlight after reports came out that a flight attendant had asked a 37-year-old Houston, Texas-based doctor named Latisha “Tisha” Rowe traveling with their company to cover herself up with a blanket.
However, according to the doctor, her outfit was not inappropriate in the slightest, and she even posted pictures on Twitter to prove her point.
To make matters worse, the woman was reportedly traveling with her 8-year-old son, who had to witness the whole situation.
The incident took place shortly before takeoff, as a flight attendant pulled the doctor to the side and asked her to cover up.
She then took the woman off the flight from Jamaica to Florida and asked her if she had a jacket that she could use to cover up her sleeveless arms.
The woman was then allowed back on the plane only under the condition that she walked down the aisle covered in a blanket. According to the doctor, the whole incident made her feel humiliated and powerless.
However, she did not want to give up the seat they had already paid for and patiently waited for the flight to be over so she could post about it on social media.
Here is what i was wearing when @AmericanAir asked me to deplane for a talk. At which point I was asked to “cover up”. When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket. #notsofriendlyskies pic.twitter.com/AYQNNriLcq
— Tisha Rowe MD, MBA (@tisharowemd) July 1, 2019
She wrote: “Here is what I was wearing when @AmericanAir asked me to deplane for a talk. At which point, I was asked to “cover-up.” When defending my outfit, I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket. #notsofriendlyskies. My shorts covered EVERYTHING but apparently was too distracting to enter the plane.”
American Airlines has since apologized publicly, adding that they are investigating the incident and looking to gather more information with the cooperation of the woman herself, as well as employees of the airport where the incident took place.
The company’s statement put out by rep Shannon Gilson read: “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. We apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us.”
Not much has come out of the whole situation afterward, prompting many to accuse American Airlines of trying to sweep the issue under the rug. Rowe, who is black, believes that race played a part in what happened.
She explained: “We are policed for being black. Our bodies are over-sexualized as women, and we must ADJUST to make everyone around us comfortable. 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 ass” vs. a @Serena Booty, it’s okay…”
People on social media seem to agree with her assessment. However, some have pointed out that racism cannot be the main issue since the people who asked her to cover up are of the same race as her.
One person argued: “Smh, really? My bf was on a flight once where there were these wasted girls wearing bikinis, and the airline didn’t care. double standards.”
Another commenter added: “First of all I’ve seen people in tiny sleep shorts and uggs, but they think this is inappropriate? I feel like If she was stick thin, this wouldn’t be a problem but because she curvy, they were tripping.”
Rowe is said to be thinking about a suing American Airlines.
