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Short shorts prevent burlesque dancer from boarding JetBlue flight

By Daniel Uria
JetBlue offered a Seattle woman a free flight after she said she was forced to purchase a change of clothes after her shorts were deemed too short. Maggie McMuffin, who works as a burlesque dancer, said she was approached before boarding a flight home from a performance in Boston and told to change her clothes before she would be allowed to board the flight. She purchased a $22 pair of pajama pants, which she was also refunded for, but said she would like the airline to apologize and clarify their dress code. 
 Screen capture/KCPQ/Inform Inc.
JetBlue offered a Seattle woman a free flight after she said she was forced to purchase a change of clothes after her shorts were deemed too short. Maggie McMuffin, who works as a burlesque dancer, said she was approached before boarding a flight home from a performance in Boston and told to change her clothes before she would be allowed to board the flight. She purchased a $22 pair of pajama pants, which she was also refunded for, but said she would like the airline to apologize and clarify their dress code. Screen capture/KCPQ/Inform Inc.

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SEATTLE, May 31 (UPI) -- A woman was prevented from boarding a JetBlue flight to Seattle after the airline deemed that her shorts were too short.

Maggie McMuffin, who works as a burlesque dancer, was returning from a performance in Boston while wearing a tiger sweater, black and white shorts and thigh-high socks, when a gate lead approached her about 45 minutes before she was set to board the flight.

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"Told me that she was really sorry for bringing this up but just what I was wearing was not appropriate and the flight crew had discussed it and the pilot had decided that I needed to put something else on or I would not be allowed to board the flight," she told Kiro 7.

McMuffin said her shorts were deemed too short and that the staff would not permit her to cover up her waist using a sweater or blanket.

Ultimately McMuffin purchased a $22 pair of extra-large women's pajama bottoms from the airport store.

Following the incident McMuffin told King 5 that JetBlue reimbursed her for the cost of the pajama pants and offered her a $162 credit for a future flight, but she still felt disrespected.

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"It was a nice gesture," she said. "But I don't really want to fly JetBlue again and they told me they couldn't give me a cash refund."

JetBlue released a statement regarding the incident and said that they stand behind the discretion of their employees.

"While the customer was not denied boarding, the crew members politely asked if she could change. The customer agreed and continued on the flight without interruption," they said. "We support our crew members' discretion to make these difficult decisions."

McMuffin expressed that she felt the ruling on her clothing was subjective as she was not questioned on her first flight or when she cleared the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.

"I was told it was the pilot's final say so these are not official rules that can be broken," she said.

McMuffin noted that the shorts were not burlesque shorts and said that she would like to see JetBlue apologize and implement a more clear dress code policy.

"If companies are going to seek action against people like me, they should clearly list their boundaries and their dress code," she said. "I think this seems like a small thing, but it's connected to a lot of larger things in our society, and it's something JetBlue really needs to analyze."

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