No shoes, no shirt at the Hilton Head airport? Apparently that’s been a problem

It’s island life, man.

The Beaufort County Airports Board — typically a group that discusses very serious and technical problems like terminal improvements or runways — will discuss a dress code for the county’s airport buildings next Thursday.

The discussion is as a result of a few — and Beaufort County Airports Director Jon Rembold insists it’s only a “few” — incidents in which people have come to the Hilton Head Island Airport not appropriately dressed for public viewing.

Chill out. No one is showing up at the airport without pants.

But Rembold said the airport has seen people pick up passengers without shirts and, more frequently, without shoes on.

Turns out, Beaufort County (founded 251 years ago) does not have a universal rule on appropriate attire that extends to the airport buildings.

Rembold said the board will discuss creating one next week so Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies can point to an official rule when gently reminding airport patrons that they need to be fully clothed.

A suggestion: Before you head out the door, maybe throw on some flip flops and an old concert t-shirt.

Katherine Kokal

The Island Packet

843-560-9158

Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.