United Airlines released a statement confirming its passengers may wear leggings in-flight following an incident in March where two girls were barred from boarding one of its flights. The incident set off a wave of online criticism, with some calling the airline out for what they deem sexist or old-fashioned dress code policies.

The statement read, “To our customers … your leggings are welcome!” United explained the girls in question were United pass riders, meaning they were relatives or friends of United employees who receive the benefit of free or heavily discounted air travel, and were subject to a dress code.

The two girls were barred by a gate agent from boarding a flight from Denver (DEN) to Minneapolis (MSP) because they were wearing leggings, while a third was asked to change before being allowed to board.

The incident was documented on Twitter and quickly went viral. United responded by releasing the following statement:

“We care about the way we present ourselves to you, our customers, as we believe that is part of the experience onboard our flights. One of the benefits of working for an airline is that our employees are able to travel the world. Even better, they can extend this privilege to a select number of what we call “pass riders.” These are relatives or friends who also receive the benefit of free or heavily discounted air travel — on our airline as well as on airlines around the world where we have mutual agreements in place for employees and pass riders. When taking advantage of this benefit, all employees and pass riders are considered representatives of United. And like most companies, we have a dress code that we ask employees and pass riders to follow. The passengers this morning were United pass riders and not in compliance with our dress code for company benefit travel. We regularly remind our employees that when they place a family member or friend on a flight for free as a standby passenger, they need to follow our dress code. To our regular customer, your leggings are welcome.”