On June 4, passenger Sam Saadeh was due to board a United Airlines (UA) flight from Atlanta Airport (ATL) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). Saadeh claims he was asked by a “company supervisor” to choose between changing his shirt and not boarding the flight because a flight attendant found it “offensive”. The T-shirt in question had the words “Bombing kids is not self-defence” written on it.
Contract of carriage
Sam Saadeh, of Palestinian descent, said the T-shirt reflects his views on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Saadeh said he questioned why his clothing was deemed “offensive” and recalled being confused, upset and humiliated. He did comply with the request, and an unnamed UA Spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that the “customer flew as scheduled after changing his shirt.”
The airline did not give any further comment. Relevant sections of UA’s online “Contract of Carriage” Document under Rule 21 “Refusal of Transport” state that:
“UA shall have the right to refuse transport on a permanent or temporary basis or shall have the right to remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger for the following reasons.
“Whenever refusal or removal of a Passenger may be necessary for the safety of such Passenger or other Passengers or members of the crew including, but not limited to […] Passengers who are barefoot, not properly clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive.”
There is no further clarification given on what could be considered “offensive”.
Think carefully
Since the incident, Sam Saadeh says he has filed an official complaint with the United States Department of Transportation and is consulting with lawyers.
The incident taps into a controversial subject, the ongoing, well-documented crisis in Gaza, in which the United Nations has reported that since 2023, it has “killed over 20,000 children and injured 44,000 more.” Whilst Saadeh’s T-shirt carried a general message, it is a tricky one to display on any flight, where any use of the words “bomb” or “bombing” can be grounds for removal, as it may upset passengers and spark a safety incident. For example, a 13-year-old British Tourette’s sufferer was prevented from boarding a British Airways flight at London Gatwick (LGW) on May 23, 2026, for shouting “bomb”.
However, this is not the only recent United Airlines incident featuring a debate around “offensive” clothing. During Pride month, on June 17, another United Airlines passenger shared a similar experience on X (formerly Twitter), where she claimed the flight attendant on her United Airlines flight said she found her T-shirt with the words “lesbian as s***t” to be “deeply offensive”. But this passenger was allowed to board the plane, demonstrating that, on any given day, it is up to the crew on duty whether to enforce boarding refusal rules.
Do you think Sam Saadeh should have been made to change his T-shirt? Let us know in the comments below.
