Family wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts banned from entering Manchester Airport lounge

'A Minnie Mouse t-shirt with our name on is not offensive in any way', said passenger

KARACHI ': A lounge at Manchester Airport refused to admit a family on to their premises because they were wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts. The family, a total of eight people, had pre-booked their access to the Aspire Lounge on Monday, located near Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport.

A two-year-old, travelling with her aunt Emma Raikes, and five other family members were apparently headed to Disneyworld, Florida. The baby’s grandmother had already paid a sum of US$900 for the family to kick back in the lounge before they boarded their long international flight.

The family believes that they were stopped from entering the lounge because of their t-shirts. Each shirt had been customised with a family member’s name, and the words ‘Florida 2017’. One ear of the Minnie on these shirts displayed ‘Familymoon’ on them. After agreeing to cover up their t-shirts with overalls, the family was finally allowed inside.



“We were extremely disappointed at the hassle we faced when trying to enter the lounge we had booked. We are on a familymoon to Disney and did not think a Minnie Mouse t-shirt with our name on would be seen as offensive. It was a disappointing start to our holiday,” Emma recently told a local news source.

“I wouldn’t mind but a Minnie Mouse t-shirt with our name on is not offensive in any way. My niece was grumpy and crying as she was hungry.  It’s not like we were a stag or hen party,” she added.

Pressed for further details, Emma said, “They eventually let us in, but only if we put jumpers on. We were boiling and the lady on the desk wasn’t even nice about it. We have been in the escape lounge twice before which is lovely and never had any issues.”

https://twitter.com/EmmaRaikes/status/897012153156329473

The company which owns the lounge has issued a statement, noting that they did not allow vest tops for men, football or rugby shirts, clothing with offensive slogans, fancy dress or onesies.



A spokesperson for the company has said, “Our lounges do have a dress code in which we allow guests to wear a myriad of smart casual items and disallow other items such as tour shirts, sportswear and fancy dress. On this specific occasion, the member of staff who dealt with the family was wrong to have asked them to cover their personalised t-shirts and has misinterpreted the dress code, which is designed to ensure a comfortable atmosphere for all guests within our network of lounges. We sincerely apologise to the family for this genuine mistake and would encourage them to contact us directly to resolve this matter. The entire team at Manchester Aspire Lounge will be re-educated on the dress code to ensure this does not happen again.”

This article originally appeared in The Independent.