FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A day after a woman claimed she was kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight from New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, in part because she was showing cleavage, a witness came to her defense.
"It was the injustice, the way they were treating this woman," fellow passenger Catherine Supp told News 6 partner WPLG-TV. "You know, it was like, you know, pick the weak one out of the crowd and pick on her."
Supp said she was sitting in front of the young woman on the plane and was also kicked off the flight after offering the woman a tissue because she was crying from embarrassment.
An airline spokesman said flight attendants approached the woman at her seat because she was intoxicated.
"Her companion said, 'We've got this. Please let her stay on. We won't have anymore problems.' The flight attendant made that decision, and then as she was leaving, she said, 'By the way, you might want to cover up,'" Spirit Airlines spokesman Paul Berry said. Â
Supp, however, said it was way more than just a mention.
"Two or three times people came and said, 'They're still not covered up enough. You know, you're going to have to do something to cover them up,' and she said, 'You know, if you give me a blanket, I'll put it across my chest. I can't help it. These are my breasts,'" Supp said.
Supp said the woman wasn't loud and was never acting drunk or misbehaving during the incident. She said the woman even covered up with a large white coat. Supp said the flight attendants were embarrassing the passenger, so she turned around to console her.Â
"I saw her with her hands in her face, and she's quietly sobbing, so I turn around to give her a tissue, and I start to say to her, 'Listen honey, it'll be all right,'" Supp said.
That's when a flight attendant stormed over to the crying woman again, citing complaints from passengers, Supp said.
Supp said she told the flight attendant that the woman wasn't bothering anyone, and to her surprise, they were both kicked off the plane, along with the woman's companion.
The airline maintains that the incident was a safety issue and that the flight attendants had the right to kick all three passengers off the plane.
In a Facebook post, Supp said one of the vacant seats went to an off-duty crew member flying standby.