Woman recounts 'stunned' experience when asked to remove breast prosthesis at Dublin Airport

A woman who had a mastectomy has said she was “stunned” when she was asked to remove her breast prosthesis after setting off a new security scanner alarm at Dublin Airport.

Realtán Ní Leannáin, who is from Belfast but lives outside Dublin, was travelling to Donegal.

She said she was “like a rabbit caught in the headlights” during the incident.

Dublin Airport has apologised and said the situation should have been handled better.

Ní Leannáin told BBC NI’s Evening Extra programme: “The security officer didn’t even offer to pat me down. She stood and waited for me to remove the prosthesis.

“I couldn’t actually think. Every time I attempted to rationalise it, I couldn’t.”

The new security scanner technology tends to show up a triangle and a warning light when it detects the prosthesis, Ní Leannáin said.

In other airports, such as Glasgow and Amsterdam, she has been briefly searched or been able to explain her situation.

However, her experience at Dublin Airport was very different, she said, and the security officer told her she needed to see her prosthesis.

“When it was half out she went, ‘Okay, go ahead’. I picked up my bits, sat down for a coffee and that’s when it started to hit me.” (BBC)