Get a load of those WMDs

Southwest Airlines asks Hooters waitress and college student to get off of plane because of inappropriate attire. Kyla Ebbert's wearing the questionable outfit in the picture above.

I've seen worse in church. OK, I don't go to church, but you know what I mean. Anyway, given today's safety concerns, you'd think airlines would be encouraging more passengers to dress skimpily. Given the brevity and snugness of Ebbert's costume, it would be impossible for her to smuggle even a box cutter on the plane. Anything larger is out of the question.

Southwest explained its treatment of Ebbert in a letter to her mother, saying it could remove any passenger “whose clothing is lewd, obscene or patently offensive” to ensure the comfort of children and “adults with heightened sensitivities.”

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After the plane filled, and the flight attendants began their safety spiel, Ebbert was asked to step off the plane by a customer service supervisor, identified by the airline only as “Keith.”

They walked out onto the jet bridge, where Keith told Ebbert her clothing was inappropriate and asked her to change. She explained she was flying to Tucson for only a few hours and had brought no luggage.

“I asked him what part of my outfit was offensive,” she said. “The shirt? The skirt? And he said, 'The whole thing.' ”

Keith asked her to go home, change and take a later flight. She refused, citing her appointment. The plane was ready to leave, so Keith relented. He had her pull up her tank top a bit, pull down her skirt a bit, and return to her seat.

On the "Today" show this morning, Matt Lauer quoted a Southwest spokesperson who said they were responding to a concern that was brought to an employee's attention. Whose concern? A fellow passenger's? Does this mean that if I complain enough I can get the screaming baby, who's inevitably on every flight I take, ejected for inappropriate behavior? How about the smelly fat guy I always seem to be wedged up against? I find them both offensive.

Apparently, Southwest hasn't always disdained such clothing, as the video below (via BloggingStocks) illustrates. And Mark remembers when Southwest sold t-shirts saying "I had a nooner on Southwest Airlines."