Southern California woman and friend claim they were kicked off the Spirit flight from Los Angeles to New Orleans because they were wearing crop tops

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A Southern California woman and her friend claim they were banned from a Spirit Airlines flight because they wore crop tops and are now accusing the airline of singling them out and embarrassing them.

The two women were on a flight from LAX to New Orleans on Friday.

“We wore crop tops…like you could see your stomach a little bit,” said Dana Point resident Tara Kehidi.

They were both wearing sweaters, but they took them off because the plane had no air conditioning before takeoff.

Kehdi said a male flight attendant then approached them and aggressively told them to “put some clothes on” before walking away.

“He tells us both to put on our sweaters. And then we're like, 'Oh, can we see a dress code? For example, is there a policy that says we can't wear crop tops on the plane?'”

In front of them sat Carla Hager, a woman they didn't know. She agreed that it was very hot on the plane and said that everyone had taken off their sweaters.

“I said, 'Well, if your body is inappropriate, then so is mine, because I'm wearing a crop top under my sweater too.' And I took off my sweater and thought, 'So if they kick you off the flight, they're going to have to kick me and my toddler off the flight too,'” Hager added.

That's exactly what happened. The three women and the toddler were thrown off the plane without refund.

“It was kind of embarrassing for us too because we felt like we were being treated like… like criminals. Everyone on the plane looked at us,” said Teresa Araujo of Costa Mesa.

Eyewitness News reached out to Spirit Airlines about the incident.

A statement from the airline read: “Our contract of carriage, a document to which all guests agree when making a reservation with us, sets out certain dress standards for all guests traveling with us. We are investigating the matter and are in touch with guests about their experiences.”

The contract of carriage states, among other things, that a guest may be required to leave the aircraft if that guest is “inappropriately dressed or his or her clothing is indecent, obscene or indecent.” It also states that the guest will not be entitled to a refund if asked to leave the property.

The women then had to spend $1,000 on a Delta flight to New Orleans to celebrate Tara's 30th birthday.

“They honestly treated us like criminals – all because we wore crop tops on the plane,” Kehidi said.

The two friends told Eyewitness News that they offered to put their sweaters back on several times to avoid being kicked out, but the flight attendant told them it was too late. They say they are now interested in taking legal action.