NEXT time you think about skipping the shower before flying, you might want to think again as it could get you banned from the plane.
Some passengers have been kicked off flights after other travellers complained they smelled too bad.
David Reischer, CEO for LegalAdvice.com, previously said: “Most airlines have rules in their ‘contracts of carriage’ that allow an airline to remove a passenger if the stench is so bad that other travellers could potentially become sickened by the odour.
“Additionally, the FAA has operating procedures that allow for passenger removal if the safety and health of other travellers are affected by the bad odour from a passenger.”
American Airlines, along with many other US airlines, has written a clause in its contract of carriage, which gives staff the freedom to eject passengers who smell strongly.
In 2010 a passenger was reportedly kicked off an Air Canada Jazz flight after travellers complained about an odour.
And in 2019, an entire family were removed from an American Airlines flight after other passengers claimed they smelled.
A flight attendant has revealed how they try to handle passengers who smell rather awful during a flight.
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Yet it isn’t the only way to get kicked off a flight – here are some of the other ways you could find yourself taken off the plane.
Being overweight
For safety reasons, airlines require passengers to buckle up before take off and landing.
Many airlines have clauses in their contracts of carriage which state that passengers must be able to fit in the seatbelt restraint to be allowed to fly.
It is also up to staff’s discretion whether or not a traveller should be removed “when the passenger’s conduct creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.”
Being barefoot
Many airlines will not board passengers who don’t wear shoes for two reasons.
Firstly, if the plane was have an emergency situation, shoes may be required for a safe disembark.
And secondly, this rule ties in with the smelling-rule, due to feet often being odorous.
Wearing revealing clothes
While airlines don’t have strict rules as to what you can wear during a flight, some airlines in recent years have removed passengers after claiming their clothes were too revealing.
Mum-of-two Harriet Osborne was told her partially see-through top was unsuitable as children were on board, and was removed from the flight.
And earlier this year, a female passenger wearing a halter neck top was stopped from boarding her flight because of her outfit and was told the pilot didn’t like people “showing a lot of skin”.
