Manchester Airport lounge bans family wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts from entering

The group were heading to Florida for a "familymoon"

A family was asked to remove personalised Minnie Mouse t-shirts (Getty Images)

A family were refused entry to a lounge at Manchester Airport for wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts.

The group of eight had pre-booked access to the Aspire Lounge in Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport on Monday morning.

Emma Raikes was travelling to Disneyworld, Florida with her two-year-old niece, mother and five other family members. Emma’s mother Jane had paid £700 for the group to relax in the lounge ahead of their nine hour and 30 minute international flight.

Emma said they were turned away because of their personalised Minnie Mouse shirts. The white tops had each family member's name on, with the words “Florida 2017” and “Familymoon” in the mouse ears. The group were only allowed in when they all agreed to wear jumpers to cover the shirts.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News Emma said: “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. It was a disappointing start to our holiday.

“I wouldn’t mind but a Minnie Mouse t-shirt with our name on is not offensive in any way. My niece was grumpy and crying as she was hungry. It’s not like we were a stag or hen party.

“They eventually let us in, but only if we put jumpers on. We were boiling and the lady on the desk wasn’t even nice about it.

“We have been in the escape lounge twice before which is lovely and never had any issues.”

Swissport, which owns the lounge, says on its website that it does not allow vest tops for men, football or rugby shirts, clothing with offensive slogans, fancy dress or onesies.

A spokesman for Swissport said: “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.

“On this specific occasion, the member of staff who dealt with the family was wrong to have asked them to cover their personalised 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 apologise to the family for this genuine mistake and would encourage them to contact us directly to resolve this matter.

“The entire team at Manchester Aspire Lounge will be re-educated on the dress code to ensure this does not happen again.”