Heathrow Airport
Harassment by airport security

Can anybody advise how to register a formal complaint against a particular member of staff at the Security checkpoint, for undue harassment on 25th November from Terminal 4 at approx 6:15 am.

While we can all appreciate the need for vigilance and thoroughness at airport security, this Security Agent's sole aim appears to have been passenger harassment. While saying she was searching for liquids, she seemed to be more interested in checking every piece of paperwork and other quite obviously non-liquid contents of my handbaggage! Surely some commonsense needs to be exercised by security?

I was quite stunned to discover later that due to her excess zeal in examining the paperwork for liquids she had complete missed a new bottle of scalp medication which had been forgotten in the washbag!! I think she missed the actual purpose of a security check, choosing to harass rather than 'secure'.

It must be noted that the same bag was rechecked at CDG airport in Paris, probably for the same reason that the bag was flagged at LHR. However the totally different attitude of security there, who chose to ask a straight question, and received an immediate verification meant that the bag was opened and cleared in under a minute compared to more than 15 minutes at LHR. Apparently a small plastic bag full of loose change was the article of interest, and had come up on the monitor as a black mass.

Clearly the French exercise more commonsense and courtesy!

Company: Heathrow Airport
Country: United Kingdom
Region: England

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