During an Easter Sunday layover in Dallas, a woman was told by an employee of Southwest Airlines that she was “too fat to fly.” Kenlie Tiggeman, a blogger and political strategist, has already lost 120 pounds, but still didn’t meet the requirements under Southwest’s “Customers of Size” policy. The airline does not allow passengers to board who can’t fit between the 17-inch armrests, unless they buy a second seat.

While the airline says that it’s their policy to speak to overweight passengers in a discrete manner, Tiggeman says she was confronted in front of about 100 people.

“I know that I have a lot of weight to lose but I am definitely not too fat to fly,” says Tiggeman. “I do it all the time, domestically and internationally, and I have never had anyone approach me and particularly in the way that they did. I was embarrassed, humiliated.”


Don’t miss our interview with Kenlie:

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On par with unruly behavior or carrying a potential terrorist weapon, we can now add being too overweight as one of the possible reasons for getting booted off of an airplane.

Just this past Saturday, director Kevin Smith was asked to de-board a Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, California because, ahem, his bum was encroaching on the seats of his neighboring passengers, which according to Southwest Airlines regulations, posed a safety hazard to his fellow passengers.

Southwest said in an official statement that his removal was for the “safety and comfort of all customers.” The airlines also extended their “heartfelt apologies” to Smith.

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