On Sunday, two teenage girls were boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis and were told to change or put dresses on over their leggings. The incident sparked a debate on social media when a fellow passenger, Shannon Watts, tweeted: "A @United gate agent isn't letting girls in leggings get on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?"
United says this "no leggings" rule does not apply to all passengers but instead to "pass travellers," who are United employees or family members travelling on standby. Jonathan Guerin, a spokesman for United, said these passengers were "representing" United, and so they are not allowed to wear spandex or Lycra leggings, ripped jeans, crop tops or anything too revealing as part of its dress code.