Fitness influencer Edda Elisa Pilz recently recounted her experience with airline staff who reportedly labeled her “naked” due to her workout attire. She was prevented from boarding a Lufthansa flight from Berlin to Austria during a heatwave, where temperatures soared to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
At 24, Pilz boasts a following of over 500,000 on Instagram and TikTok. In a video she shared, now widely circulated, she questioned whether Lufthansa has a passenger dress code and voiced her dismay at how she was treated by the staff.
While waiting to scan her boarding pass, Pilz was approached by an employee who insisted her outfit was inappropriate. She was wearing a matching athletic top and shorts, which she argued should be reasonable given the hot weather.
In her video, she asked, “What should I wear? It’s just clothes.”
The employee allegedly told her that she could not board in her current outfit and instructed her to cover up. Although Pilz complied by putting on a jacket, she was told it had to be fully zipped before she could proceed. Eventually, she faced criticism for causing delays to the boarding process.
In her retelling, she expressed confusion over the airline’s dress code, noting that she saw a man in shorts board without any issue.
“I can accept the rules,” she mentioned, “but that behavior was unacceptable.” She ended her video by addressing Lufthansa directly, inquiring whether such customer service is tolerated and awaited a formal response.
According to Lufthansa’s General Conditions of Carriage, there doesn’t seem to be a specific dress code for passengers. The policy states they may refuse service under certain conditions affecting safety or the well-being of other passengers.
As of now, neither Pilz nor Lufthansa has responded to requests for commentary on the matter.
