Woman left ‘humiliated’ after being told to ‘cover up’ by airport staff over outfit
A woman said she felt 'degraded' after she was confronted over her outfit at the airport.
Radio host Nikki Osborne, 44, said the incident took place in Qantas' Brisbane lounge during a work trip to the Whitsundays, Australia.
In her QWeekend column, the frequent flyer said she 'was in holiday mode' and 'dressed myself ready for my arrival at the tropics'.
When Nikki arrived at the lounge with a male colleague, the comedian was met by what initially appeared to be a fan.
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"She grabbed me by the arm and said, 'firstly, I’m a long time fan of yours'," the former Quizmania host explained.
The staff member then followed up with: "But I’ll need you to button your cardigan up to cover yourself to protect the other cultures in the lounge."
The mother fumed: "Other cultures I thought? All I saw in the lounge were a few FIFO workers and a mum! She was very polite about it.
"I however was suddenly shaken with a combination of shock, embarrassment, humiliation, anger and frustration."
She was wearing white shorts, a pink bodysuit and a knitted white cardigan over the top, which she had on at work earlier that day.
"Do I have cleavage? Yes. Had I covered the top of it? Yes," Nikki clarified.
"Was that enough? Apparently not!"
She said Qantas' customer service assured her that it would 'never happen again', but the person on the phone questioned 'each item of my outfit and it actually made me feel worse'.
"I’m like hey, I’m upset that you scrutinised my outfit yet here we are again justifying why you scrutinised my outfit by shaming me again!" the Queenslander wrote.
Nikki noted that she has flown with Qantas 'for years' and wasn't intending on slamming the company after an air steward complemented her when she got on board.
"Again, it was an air steward who knew my work and as I boarded the plane he said 'welcome aboard Bush Barbie' and then continued to treat me really well," she added.
"When I got off my flight I called my husband and he remarked how chipper I sounded and my response was 'well the air steward made me feel good about myself again and honestly, he salvaged my week'.
"In summary, I still intend to fly Qantas for years to come but I’ll continue to choose what is appropriate clothing to wear and steer clear of the high moral ground of the Lounge!"
LADbible Group has contacted Qantas for comment.
Anish Vij