A 10-year old boy was told to remove his snake printed t-shirt before boarding because flight crews said the shirt could cause anxiety for some passengers.

Steve Lucas, a New Zealand native, was on a family trip to visit his grandparents in South Africa.   

The boy’s parents said security officers approached them at Johannesburg Airport and told the child to remove or cover his t-shirt because snake toys and printed clothing were not allowed on board.

A Boy, 10, is forced to take his shirt off before boarding a flight from #NewZealand to #SouthAfrica because it had a picture of a reptile on it ✈️😬 pic.twitter.com/T0O6DqfBDo

— aviation-fails (@aviation07fails) December 26, 2019

Stevie’s mother told him to turn his t-shirt inside out and put it back on in an attempt to quickly resolve the matter, as reported in the Daily Mail.

“Security officers have the right to determine if an object has the potential to harm fellow passengers and crew members by causing certain objects or prints to be anxious,” the airport said in a statement.

The family told local media that they have contacted the Airports Company of South Africa to seek clarification on the reason for the clothing rule.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Note that we asked for a more extensive reason for the clothing rules and restrictions. We will give you feedback as soon as we receive it,” an email response reads from the airport company.

The young boy, who has an interest in snakes, spiders, and bugs, took the incident well, his mother told local media.