Woman forced to remove breast prosthesis in front of other travelers after new security scanners at Dublin Airport went off: ‘I was crying the whole flight’

A Belfast woman has described how she had to remove her breast prosthesis in front of fellow passengers as she went through security at Dublin airport.

Réaltán Ní Leannáin underwent a mastectomy some fifteen years ago after being diagnosed with cancer and has been wearing 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 she flew through for a flight to Donegal.

Ní Leannáin claims a security guard stopped her and told her to remove it in plain view of other passengers, without offering her a private examination.

“I was crying the whole flight to Donegal when I realized what had just happened,” she said in comments from The Irish Independent.

‘I am fifteen years removed from diagnosis and have been wearing a prosthesis for fifteen years. I still notice that it influenced me more than any other aspect during those years.

“I was surprised at how much it upset me.”

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

However, passengers have the right to privacy and may request that staff escort them to a separate room to conduct the search.

Dublin Airport said it is facilitating private screening of passengers to protect their privacy and dignity.

But Ní Leannáin said she was not aware of this and was not offered a private examination despite telling a female airport worker she was wearing a prosthesis.

Ní Leannain told it RTE Live line her “dignity was not protected that day” and said she was still unsure of the procedure for marking her prosthesis to staff on future trips.

“When I travel, I still want to know what to say to them.

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

Ní Leannáin then called on Dublin Airport to ‘do better’, arguing that ‘Glasgow, Donegal and Amsterdam appear to be much more sensitive to the new scanning technology than Dublin’.

Dublin Airport operator DAA said in a statement that it was regrettable that Ní Leannáin had a ‘negative experience’ with security checks.

‘The team carried out a full investigation into the incident and the situation should have been handled better.

‘All passengers in such situations can request a private screening, which will then be facilitated by a trained employee.

“We offer our full apologies to the passenger and can assure her that steps have been taken to ensure that a similar situation is avoided in the future,” the statement said, before the DAA added “looks forward to welcoming Ní Leannáin will return to Dublin Airport soon, when we can assure her of a much more positive experience.”