A woman travelling from Dublin to Donegal said she was left in tears after being made to remove her breast prosthesis in public view at Dublin Airport.
Réaltán Ní Leannáin, an author from Belfast, who survived breast cancer 15 years ago, said she had never been asked to remove her prosthesis in an airport before. But when it showed up on the body scanner while travelling last month, a female security attendant told her that she needed to see it removed.
Ms Ní Leannáin claims she was offered no other option but to remove her prosthesis in the crowded security area.
“I went to collect my rucksack and it was about half an hour later it occurred to me what the hell just happened. This was in the middle of everything, and there was me with my top halfway down to my bra trying to get a hold of this,” Ms Ní Leannáin told Joe Duffy on RTE’s Liveline.
Her flight was the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day, when “the whole world was passing through Dublin Airport”, she said.
Ms Ní Leannáin said she sat and cried on her short flight to Donegal while writing to Dublin airport about the experience, as it was something she never endured in her travels.
“I’ve been in Glasgow, Amsterdam, there’s been a quick pat-down. Coming back home from Donegal from Carrickfinn Airport there was an “aw right, gotcha, not a bother”.”
Ms Ní Leannáin said there should be a detailed protocol for post-mastectomy patients, and adequate notice should be provided to passengers before they go through the scanning process.
“It has to be dealt with in a dignified way,” she said.
DAA, the operator of Dublin Airport, has said that a full investigation into the incident was carried out by the team and the situation should have been handled better.
“All passengers in such situations can request a private screening, which is then facilitated by a trained member of staff,” the statement said.
“We offer a full apology to the passenger and can assure her that steps have been taken to ensure a similar situation is avoided in the future.”
