American Airlines bars Turkish woman bodybuilder from flight for ‘offensive’ clothing
American Airlines Boeing 737 Max
A bodybuilder was not allowed to board her flight at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport Thursday because American Airlines crew found her clothing offensive, according to media reports.
Deniz Saypinar is a professional bodybuilder from Turkey. On Thursday, she posted on her Instagram story to her nearly 1 million followers that airline staff refused to let her board her flight to Miami because of what she was wearing. The post was not longer available on Sunday since Instagram stories are only posted for 24 hours.
“I like to wear feminine clothes that reveal my femininity, but I never dress in a way that will offend anyone,” she wrote in the post, according to the Dallas Morning News. “I’m mature and civilized enough to know what I can and cannot wear.”
American Airlines did not immediately respond to requests to comment Sunday, but confirmed the incident to the Dallas Morning News. In the statement, a spokesperson said customers must dress appropriately for flights. Saypinar was rebooked on a subsequent flight to Miami, according to the statement.
In regards to dress code, American Airlines’ website says that “bare feet or offensive clothing” aren’t allowed for passengers.
Saypinar, who was first woman in Turkey to ever receive International Federation of BodyBuilders status, said in the Instagram story that flight attendants told her that her style “disturbed other families” at the airport, according to the Daily Mail. Saypinar was also the first non-American citizen to win the US National Bikini Fitness Competition in 2021.
A screenshot of the post shows Saypinar wearing a brown cropped shirt, denim shorts and a white jacket tied around her waist. She also wrote in the post that she moved from Turkey to the U.S. to “be free as a woman.”
“I feel insulted. They wouldn’t let me on the plane because I wore these shorts in the United States,’ Saypinar said in the post.
By Marin Wolf www.nbcdfw.com