When I’m flying, all I really care about is that the air traffic controllers keep me from crashing into stuff, I don’t really care what they’re wearing…

An air-traffic controller in Oberlin was reprimanded because his aquamarine pants were “not gender appropriate.”

The dressing down came after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a dress code for controllers, and the two now have added a fashion fight to their already strained relationship….

[Union spokeswoman Mellisa] Ott said the case of the veteran controller admonished about the color of his pants was just one of several incidents nationwide. A couple of women with knee problems hurt themselves when they were ordered – despite doctor’s orders against it – to wear dress shoes.

Another Oberlin controller was disciplined because he wore an orange shirt that a supervisor said “looked like a highway traffic cone.”

The man in the aquamarine pants was warned he would be disciplined further if he wore them again.

“He was angry. He said they were questioning his sexuality because of his pants,” Ott said. “And aren’t there laws against discriminating against someone because of sexual orientation anyway? Does that mean a woman can’t wear brown because it’s a ‘guy’ color?”

She noted that controllers work in a dark room in a secure building, far from the public. It’s rare that members of the public ever get into the building and even more rare that they would get into the area where the controllers work.

“So, who are we dressing up for?” Ott asked….

The department’s seriousness about the dress code was apparent in a speech widely distributed by union members made by FAA Vice President of Terminal Services Bruce Johnson before agency managers. Johnson said managers should not be afraid to put a controller’s “career on the line” for dress code violations.

“If you need to terminate someone, you terminate him,” Johnson said.

Among the shenanigans that angered Johnson were the male controllers who showed up to work in dresses. National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Doug Church said the controllers wore dresses to point out “the silliness of a dress code.” He noted that as written, there is nothing in the rules that prohibits male controllers from wearing dresses.