Leggings don't fly with United Airlines

Washington: United Airlines has barred two girls from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings.

The girls were not allowed onto the morning flight on Sunday from Denver to Minneapolis as they were travelling under an employee travel pass that includes a specific dress code. Another girl who was also wearing leggings had to change before she was allowed to board the flight. The airline's actions sparked a quick backlash on Twitter.

Activist Shannon Watts of Denver tweeted that she witnessed the event and questioned United's decision to police women's clothing. Watts said one of the girls' father was allowed to board while wearing shorts and called the airline's policy sexist. United Airlines responded by saying it "shall have the right to refuse passengers who are not properly clothed". Hours later, the airline said that the passengers who were flying "were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel".