Budget carrier IndiGo protested the outfit of a female passenger and prevented her from boarding the domestic flight to India. According to the airline the woman, who was connecting from the city of Mumbai to India's capital city New Delhi, was refused passage because the woman was wearing clothing that did not meet IndiGo regulations. They said that based on their policy the passenger's dress was too short and showed too much skin.
A fellow passenger, Purabi Das, shared his observation of the incident on Facebook.
"She was not permitted to board because she was wearing a knee-length frock which was considered inappropriate wear by an airlines that has frocks of the same length for its stewardesses' uniforms."
A few other passengers like Das reacted to the incident prior to knowing about IndiGo's regulation. While the woman's clothing is not categorically indecent, IndiGo has a standing policy ban for employees and relatives of employees against clothing that are above the knees or shorter.
IndiGo released the following statement to explain the protocols behind Mumbai ground staffs' action and to assure the passengers and the public that the staff acted within reason. "Employees and the nominated family members are required to maintain a specific dress code, as and when they fly with the airline under the staff leisure travel privileges."
The passenger, who is an Indian national and a former employee of the budget airline, was travelling on a special ticket courtesy of her sister who is currently employed by IndiGo. She subsequently changed to more appropriate clothing and was correspondingly allowed onboard a later flight.
IndiGo has 98 aircrafts of the A320 airbus family and facilitates 647 flight schedules daily. It transports almost 40 percent of the home market and is, for this reason, considered India's biggest airline. Of its 38 destinations, five are on international routes.
