No, I never said that. I agreed with you. I just also stated that my (and from what I could see, your) feeling was based on a gut feeling (and prior experience), not the evidence presented. That doesn't mean we're wrong. It just means that there was no DIRECT evidence to support our feelings.

I'd say that, regardless of my personal feelings, the story is what it is (correct or otherwise) until more info comes to light.

I don't feel that there is a big deal about having a dress code. LOTS of places have one. I DO, however, feel that if the business has expectations of their customers that they express those expectations to their customers, particularly in industries where it isn't reasonable to expect the customer to change at the last minute. For example if your local food store had a policy that you had to wear enclosed footwear (no sandals, etc) and didn't publish it, it wouldn't be a huge deal. You live close by and there are other food stores so you could choose to go home and change your shoes or go to another store. However, if an airline had a similar policy and didn't enforce it until you got to the security checkpoint or boarding gate it would be a different story. You have already checked your bags, you most likely don't have spare shoes with you and you don't have a reasonable ability so source other shoes at that point. Therefore it would be most appropriate for the airline to notify you of their policy in advance. It's not the fact that they have the policy that is the issue, it's how, when and if it's presented to the customer.