Woman’s onboard tantrum at FLL forces passengers off Atlanta flight, deputies say
Tags: FLLOpens in new window, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International AirportOpens in new window, Broward CountyOpens in new window, CrimeOpens in new window
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A woman threw a fit after being kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Atlanta on Monday, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Moira Fanny Madjou, 27, of Laurel, Maryland, on a felony and two misdemeanor charges. She’s since been banned from flying Spirit Airlines, according to the company.
According to a BSO arrest report, deputies were sent to Gate G3 at around 9:30 a.m. after a report of a disturbance onboard the flight.
The report states that a Spirit supervisor told deputies that Madjou “was no longer permitted to fly per her noncompliance with flight attendants.”
The report doesn’t state what instructions Madjou allegedly refused to follow.
Deputies said that when they boarded the plane, they found Madjou seated and wearing headphones and that she refused their commands to get off.
According to the report, this resulted in the airline having to deplane half of the passengers. But Madjou still “did not comply and had to be physically removed from her seat,” deputies said.
They said she then “threw herself to (the) floor and began kicking and flailing her arms in an attempt to not be handcuffed.”
Jail records show deputies arrested Madjou on a felony charge of trespassing on critical infrastructure, along with charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.
A Spirit Airlines spokesperson released a statement about the incident to Local 10 News on Wednesday:
“On July 28, law enforcement was requested to meet Spirit Airlines flight 1388 (FLL-ATL) prior to departure from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) due to a disruptive passenger. The passenger was ultimately escorted off the aircraft by law enforcement. We do not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind, and this passenger is no longer welcome on any of our flights. The flight departed for Atlanta (ATL) a short time later.”— Spirit Airlines statement
Court records show Madjou posted a $3,150 bond.
Spirit Airlines passenger says she was denied boarding over shorts deemed “too short”
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Updated on: July 18, 2025 / 3:37 PM EDT / CBS Miami
A woman said she was denied boarding on a Spirit Airlines flight at Miami International Airport this week because of her shorts — sparking a tense confrontation that ended with her sister in handcuffs and raising questions about the airline’s recently updated dress code policy.
Tanasia Grayer said she was stunned when a Spirit Airlines employee told her on July 16 she wouldn’t be allowed to board her flight from Miami to Chicago because of her outfit. What started as a dress code dispute quickly escalated into a confrontation that ended with her sister under arrest. Confused and frustrated, Grayer contacted CBS News Miami.
At the heart of the issue is a policy change Spirit Airlines implemented in January 2025, tightening its guidelines around what passengers can wear on board.
“They treated me like a criminal in there”
“First of all, he told me I’m not getting on the flight at all,” Grayer said. “I said, ‘I don’t have anything to change into.'”
CBS News Miami began to look into the situation: Grayer said it was her shorts that got her booted.
“We were getting ready to board the plane, and the lady at the front desk, she stopped me and said: ‘You’re not getting on a plane like that,'” Grayer recounted. “So I looked at her and I said, ‘Like what?’ She said, ‘With those shorts.'”
On Thursday, she was wearing the same outfit since her luggage had been shipped to Chicago.
“This is just regular shorts. This is how I walked through the airport,” Grayer showed CBS News Miami. “This is how I walked through the airport with these shorts with my robe. This is exactly how I have my clothes.”
Grayer said the shorts she wore on her Spirit Airlines flight down to Miami were just as short, but did not cause a problem.
“They treated me like a real criminal in there,” she said, referring to her experience at Miami International Airport.
Sister arrested at Miami International Airport
Grayer’s sister, Jessica Kordelewski, was arrested and accused of disorderly conduct at MIA.
“I’m going home, getting on a flight and going home,” Grayer said. “I won’t be back in Miami at all.”
Spirit Airlines sent CBS News Miami a statement, saying in part:
“We always want our Guests to feel welcome and have a great experience. Consistent with other U.S. airlines, our Contract of Carriage contains certain clothing standards for all Guests traveling with us. Our records show a Guest was not in compliance with our Contract of Carriage and refused to comply when provided an opportunity to do so. The Guest and their travel companion were eventually denied boarding after displaying disruptive behavior. Further questions should be directed to law enforcement.”
Flyers react to Spirit Airlines dress code
Back in the 1950s and ’60s, air travel was considered a luxurious and glamorous experience. Passengers dressed in their finest attire. Today, most travelers opt for comfort over formality when heading to the airport.
CBS News Miami showed other flyers the outfit Grayer wore — the one that led to her being denied boarding on a Spirit Airlines flight — and asked for their thoughts.
“Honestly, I don’t think that’s fair. I think every girl, no matter what they’re wearing, should be able to express themselves,” said traveler Makayla Boubert.
“Honestly, it’s not even bad. The fact that she got kicked off the flight for that is pretty crazy,” said Jayden Jungra, another flyer.
Spirit Airlines’ updated 2025 dress code
Clint Henderson, a blogger with website The Points Guy, told CBS News Miami that the rules were recently changed.
“Spirit, actually, in particular, imposed new rules in January of this year to make inappropriate dress more defined in their Contract of Carriage, so they’re well within their rights to kick people off who they don’t feel are dressed appropriately,” he said.
That new policy includes no see-through clothing; no exposed breasts, buttocks or other private parts; no lewd, obscene or offensive clothing and tattoos; and you can’t be barefoot.
“Just remember that you’re in a public space, that you’re going to be flying with children, and not everyone is going to love your low-cut top or your tattoos,” Henderson said.
The sisters were able to find a flight home on another airline.
All the things that can get you kicked off a plane – or even banned for life
From getting amorous in the loos to going barefoot, these are the things which could see you fall foul of an airline’s rules
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Hazel PlushTravel Writer
05 September 2025 6:00am BST
All too often, bad behaviour on public transport is met with a blind eye, but there is perhaps one final bastion of decency: the commercial aircraft. It might not feel like it when your fellow passengers are prolific farters, space invaders and seat kickers – but there’s a line. And if you cross it, you can expect to be ejected tout de suite, or even black-listed by the airline.
Just ask the Crete-bound Briton who was handed a lifetime ban by Jet2 last month, after being caught with class A drugs and treating his fellow flyers to “a catalogue of disgraceful and aggressive behaviour”. Or the Ryanair passenger who was arrested last week after attempting to open an emergency exit in mid air.
But not all faux pas are quite as obvious or extreme: from going barefoot to smelling awful, these are the antics that can get you grounded – literally.
Hitting the booze
Technically, it’s illegal to be intoxicated on a plane – so think twice before you reach for that second gin spritz. But there’s a world of difference between gently sozzled (absolutely fine) and raging drunk (absolutely not), and the latter can get you removed from your seat before take-off.
This, no doubt, came as unwelcome news to 26-year-old Bradley Musgrove, who was ejected from an Emirates flight at Newcastle Airport in June for slurring his words and smelling of booze – and fined £1,065, including court costs, for the privilege. It could have been worse: according to the Civil Aviation Authority, “Acts of drunkenness on an aircraft face a maximum fine of £5,000 and two years in prison.”
Joining the mile-high club
Even if you can overcome the practical, physical and hygienic obstacles of a mid-flight liaison, getting caught is a sure-fire mood killer. Last year, after being spotted in flagrante under a pile of coats, Bradley Smith and Antonia Sullivan, from Wales, were removed from their UK-bound easyJet flight and later sentenced to almost 600 hours of community service.
It’s more common than you might think: in July, Connecticut couple Trista Reilly and Christopher Arnold were arrested on arrival in Florida after a woman and children allegedly witnessed them getting amorous in the cabin; they have since been banned from JetBlue.
Not fitting into your seat
If you’re too portly to sit with both armrests lowered, most airlines – including Virgin, Ryanair and Qatar Airways – will ask you to book two seats. But failing to do so can get you expelled before take-off, as Angel Harding found last March when Air New Zealand crew allegedly removed her because she was too overweight to travel in a single seat. The airline later apologised, and reportedly offered her a free flight home.
Going barefoot
Skin-tight hot pants, a corset, a cap emblazoned with the word “f—”: all are examples of clothing that have resulted in their wearers being ejected from planes in recent years. In March 2019, passenger Emily O’Connor was reportedly removed from a Birmingham-to-Tenerife flight after Thomas Cook staff said her skimpy crop top was “causing offence”.
Of all the world’s airlines, those in the US most commonly stipulate dress codes; for example, Delta says it “may refuse to transport or may remove” customers if their clothes risk causing “offence or annoyance to other passengers”. It also prohibits going barefoot, as does Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines – so think twice before kicking off your shoes after boarding.
Being sick
In 2019, 47 people were removed from a single TUI flight to Manchester from Boa Vista in Cape Verde after a mass outbreak of gastroenteritis during their holiday. The airline reportedly told the captain to de-plane anybody – whether vomiting or not – who might trigger a medical diversion, which delayed many of the passengers’ journeys by several days. If ill passengers are thought to be contagious or an in-flight safety risk, cabin crew have discretion to remove them.
Smelling bad
In its Conditions of Carriage, American Airlines asks passengers to “be respectful that your odour isn’t offensive”, while Delta warns it “may refuse to transport passengers… when [their] hygiene or odour creates an unreasonable risk of offence or annoyance”. And they’re true to their word: in 2019, the former removed the Adler family from a flight to Detroit after passengers allegedly complained about Mr Adler’s body odour. The family were reportedly given overnight accommodation and meals, and placed on a flight the next day.
Smoking or vaping
Lighting up is guaranteed to get you a ticket to nowhere. In July, a TUI flight from Cancun to Gatwick was diverted to the US when a couple refused to stop smoking in the bathroom – triggering a 17-hour delay for all passengers.
Smoking and vaping are taken so seriously that you may be black-listed by the airline too. British Airways states that it has the “right to refuse to carry you or to ban you” if you “have ever been caught smoking, attempting to smoke and/or tampering with a smoke detector on a previous flight”.
Ignoring instructions
Another rule from BA: if you refuse to heed cabin crew’s safety instructions, don’t expect to fly. This could cover anything from not turning off your phone to not stowing your tray-table when requested – and don’t even think about refusing to fasten your seatbelt. In July, a Batik Air flight from Vietnam to Malaysia was delayed when a woman wouldn’t belt-up; she was removed from the plane, reportedly to a chorus of cheers from fellow passengers.
Becoming violent
Any violent action against crew or passengers is a sure-fire way to get booted off, and potentially incur a lifetime ban. Dutch flag-carrier KLM has said it bars around five passengers per month, many for violent behaviour. KLM and Delta have also called for an “no fly list” of offenders to be widely shared between airlines, but no formal system is currently in place.
However, some countries, including India, keep a list of individuals banned from all of the nation’s airlines. Comfort Emmanson was barred from every Nigerian carrier in August (though the ban has since been appealed and lifted) for her “brutal physical assault” on cabin crew, in which she allegedly used a fire extinguisher as a weapon.
