Spirit Airlines passenger says she was denied boarding over shorts deemed “too short”
By Ted Scouten,Anna McAllister
A woman said she was denied boarding on a Spirit Airlines flight at Miami International Airport this week because of her shorts — sparking a tense confrontation that ended with her sister in handcuffs and raising questions about the airline’s recently updated dress code policy.
Tanasia Grayer said she was stunned when a Spirit Airlines employee told her on July 16 she wouldn’t be allowed to board her flight from Miami to Chicago because of her outfit. What started as a dress code dispute quickly escalated into a confrontation that ended with her sister under arrest. Confused and frustrated, Grayer contacted CBS News Miami.
At the heart of the issue is a policy change Spirit Airlines implemented in January 2025, tightening its guidelines around what passengers can wear on board.
“They treated me like a criminal in there”
“First of all, he told me I’m not getting on the flight at all,” Grayer said. “I said, ‘I don’t have anything to change into.'”
CBS News Miami began to look into the situation: Grayer said it was her shorts that got her booted.
“We were getting ready to board the plane, and the lady at the front desk, she stopped me and said: ‘You’re not getting on a plane like that,'” Grayer recounted. “So I looked at her and I said, ‘Like what?’ She said, ‘With those shorts.'”
On Thursday, she was wearing the same outfit since her luggage had been shipped to Chicago.
“This is just regular shorts. This is how I walked through the airport,” Grayer showed CBS News Miami. “This is how I walked through the airport with these shorts with my robe. This is exactly how I have my clothes.”
Grayer said the shorts she wore on her Spirit Airlines flight down to Miami were just as short, but did not cause a problem.
“They treated me like a real criminal in there,” she said, referring to her experience at Miami International Airport.
Sister arrested at Miami International Airport
Grayer’s sister, Jessica Kordelewski, was arrested and accused of disorderly conduct at MIA.
“I’m going home, getting on a flight and going home,” Grayer said. “I won’t be back in Miami at all.”
Spirit Airlines sent CBS News Miami a statement, saying in part:
“We always want our Guests to feel welcome and have a great experience. Consistent with other U.S. airlines, our Contract of Carriage contains certain clothing standards for all Guests traveling with us. Our records show a Guest was not in compliance with our Contract of Carriage and refused to comply when provided an opportunity to do so. The Guest and their travel companion were eventually denied boarding after displaying disruptive behavior. Further questions should be directed to law enforcement.”
Flyers react to Spirit Airlines dress code
Back in the 1950s and ’60s, air travel was considered a luxurious and glamorous experience. Passengers dressed in their finest attire. Today, most travelers opt for comfort over formality when heading to the airport.
CBS News Miami showed other flyers the outfit Grayer wore — the one that led to her being denied boarding on a Spirit Airlines flight — and asked for their thoughts.
“Honestly, I don’t think that’s fair. I think every girl, no matter what they’re wearing, should be able to express themselves,” said traveler Makayla Boubert.
“Honestly, it’s not even bad. The fact that she got kicked off the flight for that is pretty crazy,” said Jayden Jungra, another flyer.
Spirit Airlines’ updated 2025 dress code
Clint Henderson, a blogger with website The Points Guy, told CBS News Miami that the rules were recently changed.
“Spirit, actually, in particular, imposed new rules in January of this year to make inappropriate dress more defined in their Contract of Carriage, so they’re well within their rights to kick people off who they don’t feel are dressed appropriately,” he said.
That new policy includes no see-through clothing; no exposed breasts, buttocks or other private parts; no lewd, obscene or offensive clothing and tattoos; and you can’t be barefoot.
“Just remember that you’re in a public space, that you’re going to be flying with children, and not everyone is going to love your low-cut top or your tattoos,” Henderson said.
The sisters were able to find a flight home on another airline.
Woman’s onboard tantrum at FLL forces passengers off Atlanta flight, deputies say
Chris Gothner, Digital Journalist
Tags: FLLOpens in new window, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International AirportOpens in new window, Broward CountyOpens in new window, CrimeOpens in new window
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A woman threw a fit after being kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Atlanta on Monday, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Moira Fanny Madjou, 27, of Laurel, Maryland, on a felony and two misdemeanor charges. She’s since been banned from flying Spirit Airlines, according to the company.
According to a BSO arrest report, deputies were sent to Gate G3 at around 9:30 a.m. after a report of a disturbance onboard the flight.
The report states that a Spirit supervisor told deputies that Madjou “was no longer permitted to fly per her noncompliance with flight attendants.”
The report doesn’t state what instructions Madjou allegedly refused to follow.
Deputies said that when they boarded the plane, they found Madjou seated and wearing headphones and that she refused their commands to get off.
According to the report, this resulted in the airline having to deplane half of the passengers. But Madjou still “did not comply and had to be physically removed from her seat,” deputies said.
They said she then “threw herself to (the) floor and began kicking and flailing her arms in an attempt to not be handcuffed.”
Jail records show deputies arrested Madjou on a felony charge of trespassing on critical infrastructure, along with charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.
A Spirit Airlines spokesperson released a statement about the incident to Local 10 News on Wednesday:
“On July 28, law enforcement was requested to meet Spirit Airlines flight 1388 (FLL-ATL) prior to departure from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) due to a disruptive passenger. The passenger was ultimately escorted off the aircraft by law enforcement. We do not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind, and this passenger is no longer welcome on any of our flights. The flight departed for Atlanta (ATL) a short time later.”— Spirit Airlines statement
Court records show Madjou posted a $3,150 bond.
‘This Is How I Walk Through The Airport’: Woman’s Shorts Too Trashy For Spirit Airlines, Sister Arrested In Miami
Is it possible to be too trashy to fly Spirit Airlines? Is it possible to wear shorts that are too short as a passenger departing from South Florida on Spirit Airlines? Who knew.
One woman flying from Miami to Chicago was removed from her Spirit flight – and her sister handcuffed – on Wednesday. The gate agent in Miami told her she’d have to change, but she says she didn’t “have anything to change into’ because she’d shipped her bags ahead.
“We were getting ready to board the plane, and the lady at the front desk, she stopped me and said, ‘You’re not getting on a plane like that,’” Grayer said. “So I looked at her and I said, ‘Like what?’ She said, ‘With those shorts.’”
…”This is just regular shorts. This is how I walked through the airport,” Grayer said. “This is how I walked through the airport with these shorts with my robe. This is exactly how I have my clothes.”
The woman’s sister, Jessica Kordelewski, was arrested on charges of
- Disorderly Conduct / Breach of the Peace (F.S. 877.03) – $150 bond.
- Trespass‑Property After Warning (F.S. 810.09(1)(a)1) – $500 bond.
From the charges it appears she was likely shouting, cursing, and refused to leave when ordered to do so.
According to Spirit Airlines,
We always want our Guests to feel welcome and have a great experience. Consistent with other U.S. airlines, our Contract of Carriage contains certain clothing standards for all Guests traveling with us. Our records show a Guest was not in compliance with our Contract of Carriage and refused to comply when provided an opportunity to do so. The Guest and their travel companion were eventually denied boarding after displaying disruptive behavior. Further questions should be directed to law enforcement.
They may not be able to outrun their reputation, but Spirit Airlines is trying to go more upscale! They have a first class now, not just ‘the Big Front Seat’.
That new policy includes no see-through clothing; no exposed breasts, buttocks or other private parts; no lewd, obscene or offensive clothing and tattoos; and you can’t be barefoot.
Airlines enforcing dress codes is pretty fraught, since discretion is generally left to individual employee discretion with little training or consistency. The woman complains that she was dressed the same way for her outbound flight with no issues.
When an American Airlines passenger was kicked off a flight for wearing an ‘F-cancer’ hoodie American apologized, saying that the employee should have “taken the broader context of the message displayed on the customer’s shirt into consideration” and not enforced the rule.
Yet a passenger was kicked off of a flight for wearing an F-12 mask and the airline did not apologize. This is a little bit more controversial of a message, perhaps (anti-police) but it used the same word, came right on the heels of the George Floyd protests (context), and the airline’s CEO at the time started wearing a Black Lives Matter wristband shortly before the incident. The airline even made Black Lives Matter pins available to employees.
Meanwhile, American told a former Miss Universe to cover up if she wanted to fly. She was wearing clothing less revealing than others on the same flight.
Who knew, though, that Spirit Airlines had a dress code, though? Earlier this year they kicked off a passenger over their hoodie and last year over her crop top.
