Female Travelers Scream Out Sydney Airport For Creepy Check-In Performance: ‘I Was Stunned’
- Airport security requires women to take off their coats
- Traveler was wearing a blouse without a zipper or buttons
- Claims that Sydney Airport security staff were unrelenting
A female traveler storms Sydney Airport after security mistook her blouse for a jacket and demanded she take it off.
Yumi Lee, who is from Blacktown in western Sydney, was on holiday in Malaysia in January.
While passing through the Sydney Airport International Terminal, Ms Lee was stopped by a male security guard and ordered to remove her coat.
Mrs. Lee wore a pullover shirt with a buttonless collar and no zipper – a design that would not be mistaken for a coat.
Yumi Lee was stopped by a male security guard during the screening process at Sydney Airport’s T1 International Terminal and ordered to take off her coat despite not even wearing one (stock image)
“I was stunned because I was wearing a blouse. I told him, and he yelled ‘take off your coat’ several times,” Ms Lee said The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He then yelled at me, ‘I can stop you from getting to your plane’… I was shaking. Being asked to take off my blouse was completely unthinkable.
“Everyone who saw the blouse said there was no way it could be mistaken for a coat.”
Ms. Lee explained that it wasn’t until she showed the security guard part of her blouse that he stopped demanding she take it off.
The frustrated traveler lodged a complaint with Sydney Airport, which then passed the complaint on to its security contractor – Certis Security Australia.
Sydney Airport has received a number of complaints from female travelers over the past 12 months about their treatment by male security at the domestic and international terminals.
A female airline executive, who spoke anonymously to the Sydney Morning Herald, said she had seen Sydney Airport security staff treat women differently than their male counterparts.
The airline employee explained that men walk through body scanners in their suits, jackets and sweaters, while women are told to take off their clothes.
She added that if her aviation security ID was not presented, security personnel would force her to remove her shoes and Apple Watch and strip down to a singlet or camisole.
“Incidents are slowly increasing. But it’s mostly about the way Sydney staff behave; how they yell orders at you, don’t say please and don’t give instructions, confusing passengers,” the airline employee said.
Ms Lee said she wore a blouse that had no zippers or buttons and would never be mistaken for a jacket (stock image)
The executive claims she tried to make several complaints about her treatment, asking to speak to the screening supervisor, but was denied on the spot.
The Ministry of the Interior advises travelers who have had a negative experience during their safety investigation and wish to file a complaint to request to speak to the supervisor on duty.
Travelers can also make a complaint directly to the relevant airport or screening authority, in this case Sydney Airport.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Sydney Airport and Certis Security Australia for comment.