Woman forced to remove prosthetic breast in front of fellow travelers after new security scanners triggered at Dublin Airport: ‘I sat and cried the whole flight’

A Belfast woman has described how she was forced to remove her prosthetic breast in front of other passengers as she went through security at Dublin Airport.

Réaltán Ní Leannain underwent a mastectomy around fifteen years ago following a cancer diagnosis and has worn a prosthesis ever since.

But the writer suffered a very public ordeal when a body scanner at Dublin Airport flagged the artificial body part as it passed before a flight to Donegal.

Ní Leannain claims a security member stopped her and told her to remove it in full view of other passengers, without offering a private search.

“I sat and cried the whole flight to Donegal after I realized what had just happened,” she said in comments reported by The Irish Independent.

“I am 15 years from diagnosis and 15 years from wearing a prosthesis. I still find that this affected me more than any other aspect during those years.

“It surprised me how much it upset me.”

If a body scanner is activated by an airport passenger, airport policy requires staff to conduct a search.

Passengers, however, have the right to privacy and can ask staff to escort them to a separate room to carry out the search.

Dublin Airport said it was facilitating private searches for passengers to protect their privacy and dignity.

But Ní Leannain said she was unaware of this and was not offered a private search, even though she told an airport worker she was wearing a prosthesis .

Neither Leannain said RTE direct line her “dignity was not protected that day” and said she was still unsure of the procedure for reporting her prosthesis to staff on future trips.

“I always want to know when I travel, what am I telling them.

“I want to know that no other woman who has had breast cancer or a mastectomy will be affected by the implementation of the new technology,” she said.

Ní Leannáin then called on Dublin Airport to “do better”, saying that “Glasgow, Donegal and Amsterdam seem to be handling the new scanning technology much more sensitively than Dublin”.

Dublin Airport operator DAA said in a statement that it regretted that Ní Leannain had a “negative experience” with security checks.

“A thorough 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 qualified member of staff.

“We offer our full apologies to the passenger and can assure her that steps have been taken to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future,” the statement said, before adding that the DAA “looks forward to to welcome Ní Leannain will be back at Dublin Airport soon, when we can ensure a much more positive experience for her.”