Emily O'Connor, from Solihull, claims she was left 'shaking and upset' after Thomas Cook staff refused to take-off until she covered her 'inappropriate' low cut top
A BRIT traveller who was forced to "cover up" her crop top during a Thomas Cook flight has hit out at the company during an appearance on This Morning.
Emily O'Connor, 21, claims she was left "shaking and upset" by the incident - though some viewers today sided with the airline's decision, labelling her top a "bra".
Emily told The Sun Online yesterday she was also subjected to humiliating abuse from another passenger who called her a "pathetic woman" and demanded she "put a f***ing jacket on".
During an appearance on today's This Morning show, she said: "There was a man behind me wearing a vest top and a pair of shorts, and I was thinking to myself, I’m getting targeted, and said that my shoulders and arms are out, when a gentleman is in the exact same situation.
"For me as a woman, or a man, any gender, any sex, you should be able to show your body in any way you deem appropriate."
However, responses to what she said were mixed - with an etiquette expert even claiming her top was actually more like a bra.
Liz Brewer said: "Let’s get a few facts straight. That is not a crop top. That is a bra."
She continued: "I don’t want to criticise you Emily but we live in a world today where we get all these sexy selfies.
"I think we have to wake up and wise up about the fact that you are demeaning what we’ve been trying to fight for all this time."
That is not a crop top. That is a bra."
Etiquette expert Liz Brewer
The incident occurred on March 2 when Emily, from Solihull, was embarking from Birmingham on a flight with six pals to Tenerife.
She explained: "I wore that outfit through security, through the whole of the airport and then I got onto the plane.
"The flight attendant said that I was inappropriately dressed and I needed to cover up.
"The flight manager and the flight staff all came over and stood there, then said: 'If you don't put a jacket on now we're taking you off the plane'.
"A guy two rows in front of me shouted: 'Shut up you pathetic woman, put a f***ing jacket on' and they all just let him shout at me.
"A gent two rows behind me was wearing shorts and a vest top and nothing was said to him.
"They were going to kick me off the flight and held it for 20 minutes. It wasn't until I physically put the jacket on that they left.
"It was the most sexist, misogynistic, embarrassing experience of my life - the way they can tell anyone what is or is not appropriate. I could wear that in Birmingham in the street and I wouldn't get harassed."
However, other This Morning viewers also criticised Emily's choice of outfit on Twitter, saying "nobody needs to be in a bra" in March.
Another wrote: "I think she should have avoided going on national TV. Did herself no favours".
A third tweeted: "It is not necessarily about 'offence' it is about inappropriateness and that is what it was pure and simple."
Yesterday a Thomas Cook spokesperson said: "We are sorry that we upset Ms O’Connor. It’s clear we could have handled the situation better.
"In common with most airlines we have an appropriate clothing policy. This applies equally to men and women of all ages without discrimination.
"Our crews have the difficult task of implementing that policy and don’t always get it right.”
She was flying from Birmingham to Tenerife
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