A lounge at Manchester Airport on Monday denied entry to a family clad in designs of the character created by Walt Disney.
Emma Raikes was on her way to Disneyworld, Florida with her two-year old niece, mother and five other family members. The group had paid £700 to relax in the Aspire Lounge at Manchester on Monday morning, as their international flight would take nine hours and 30 minutes.
Raikes said the staff refused their entry to the lounge due to their personalized Minnie Mouse t-shirts, which read “Florida 2017” and “Familymoon,” including each family member’s name on it. They were told that they would only be allowed in if they agreed to wear jumpers to cover the Minnie Mouse t-shirts.
“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,” said Raikes.
She also tweeted to the lounge saying: “Being told you are not allowed in the @AspireLounge in T1 MAN with a 2 year old as you have Minnie Mouse and name printed on a tshirt – poor.”
“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,” said a spokesman for Swissport, the owner company of the Aspire Lounge.
“On this specific occasion, the member of staff who dealt with the family was wrong to have asked them to cover their personalized 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 apologize to the family for this genuine mistake and would encourage them to contact us directly to resolve this matter,” he added.
