Family’s airport lounge ban over Disney t-shirts
A FAMILY was turned away from a lounge at Manchester Airport for wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts.
Emma Raikes was with her twoyear-old niece Quinn, her mum and five other members of their family when she tried to get into the Aspire Lounge at Terminal One on Monday morning.
They have used it on previous trips – and Emma’s mum Jane Walshaw had forked out almost £170 for the privilege ahead of their ‘family moon’ to Disney World in Florida.
Emma said they were turned away from the lounge because of their Minnie Mouse tops – which had their names on – and were only allowed in when they agreed to wear jumpers.
Swissport, which owns and operates the lounge, apologised and said staff could be ‘re-educated’ on dress code rules.
Emma told the M.E.N.: “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.
“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: “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 lounge twice before which is lovely and never had any issues.”
The airport lounge is operated and owned by Swissport.
A spokesman 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.”