Dress code on Delta flights? A veteran is reprimanded for her “threatening” T-shirt

A Marine veteran, Catherine Banks, flying out of San Fransisco International Airport, was nearly asked to de-board a flight after another passenger found the shirt she was wearing offensive. “Do not give in to the war within. End veteran suicide,” read the shirt. Veteran suicide is a serious problem in the United States. Since 2001, 131,000 veterans have taken their own lives, according to Stop Solider Suicide.

Banks, who was on her way to visit another veteran, was escorted off the plane by a flight attendant and told that she would not be allowed to board if she did not remove the shirt. She was told that the shirt was “threatening,” and though she complied with the request she described the incident as humiliating and that she was made to feel guilty for something that should not be stigmatized. Once the Delta representative allowed her to board the aircraft, she was informed that she could not sit in the emergency exit row, for which she had paid extra. Instead, as reported by NBC Bay Area, she would be moved to a seat at the back of the aircraft.

In talking through the experience with a reporter, she said she felt that the airline “took my soul away” and that she “should be allowed to support myself and veterans.” Many agree with Banks, and based on the communication she received from Delta after the incident, so does the company.

While Delta has said they are working to right the actions taken by their employee, the company maintains that they due have the right to remove any passenger. “Delta may refuse to transport any passenger, or may remove any passenger from its aircraft, when refusal to transport or removal of the passenger is reasonably necessary in Delta’s sole discretion,” reads the company’s Contract of Carriage: U.S.

Banks is not the first to encounter Delta’s dress code

A veteran was allegedly asked to de-board a Delta flight leaving from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport after another passenger said they felt uncomfortable by the man’s T-shirt, which featured Donald Trump throwing up a middle finger. The bottom of the shirt featured the catchphrase of the viral sensation turned podcaster, Haley Walsh a.k.a hawk tuah girl, “Spit on that thang.” The shirt is clearly more controversial than the one worn by Banks, and it raises questions about one’s First Amendment when flying. The shirt did not include racist, homophobic, or derogatory messaging, and while not as aesthetically pleasing to view as other articles of clothing, whether it warrants removal from the plane has become a subject of debate.

Before boarding, Delta representatives had informed the passenger that he would need to change or not be allowed to board the plane. To comply, he turned the t-shirt inside out and boarded the aircraft. However, once on the plane, he allegedly turned the shirt right side out, and the Delta team asked that he exit the plane before takeoff.