Male security at LHR asked my 15 daughter to take off her hoodie when she was travelling alone

[sofato5miles]

Am i over reacting? She was upset. She had a large but thin hoodie on and only a strappy top underneath. No female officers and she was properly unnerved by it. She was flying home alone for half term. She is a shy but capable girl. My gut feeling if she felt uncomfortable it was because something felt wrong. WWYD? Would you make an official complaint?

I have spoken to her about finding her voice before ( though in this specific case, requestiing a female officer). The hoodie was mostly zipped but you could see her straps.

I understand she may have felt uncomfortable but this is pretty normal. If you have a big coat or too you can be asked to remove it.

I don’t think the officer should reasonably be expected to realise how uncomfortable this would make her. He was asking her to remove a bulky outer layer of clothing rather than stripping to her underwear. If she was uncomfortable thenI think the onus is on her to speak up.

She should have explained she had very little on underneath and asked for a female officer, but that ship has sailed. I would question though whether being taken into another room would have helped reduce her discomfort.

At the end of the day, if you are not comfortable being seen in something, don’t fly in it!

@Missmissmiiiiiiiiisss This!

Are you sure there was no female security officer?

I fly out of Heathrow a lot, and have never ever seen a male officer working alone there.
They are always in pairs with one male and one female

But yes, it’s completely standard to be asked to take off any sort of jacket or bulky jumper to walk through the scanners, along with shoes

I’m not sure what you could complain about tbh

And not sure what would have been achieved if a female officer had asked her anyway?

Presumably she was by the belts putting her bag on, and was about to walk through the scanner when she was asked to take off her hoodie, so did so and put it on the belt with the rest of her stuff, then walked through?

Regardless of whether a man or woman gave the instruction, she would have still walked through the scanner in view of other passengers and staff?

And if you set the scanner off and have to be checked with a hand scanner, they absolutely will not let a male member of staff do it

I’ve asked before when the female officer was already checking another passenger and I was in a bit of a rush but was told they can’t let a man do it and I had to wait

She chose her clothes for the flight, presumably? I’m unsure why she felt so upset if that was the case. He didn’t ask her to take a shirt off so he could see her in her bra, he asked her to take off a bulky outer layer and presumably assumed that that wouldn’t be a problem since she was wearing a top underneath it.

Did he do anything to make her feel uncomfortable beyond asking her to remove her hoodie? Because if he did, then of course he’s in the wrong and you absolutely should complain. But if he didn’t - why on earth is your daughter choosing clothes for her own body that she doesn’t like being seen in?!

Your daughter made poor clothing choices. I don’t wear bulky hard to remove items or boots to fly in because I can’t be arsed.
I always wear a cardigan that I can whip off and preferably flip flops.

She will have learned a lesson to be prepared next time with a T-shirt underneath.

YWBVU. He's not done anything wrong.

Taking off outer layers is quite standard. I can see why your DD was uncomfortable, but next time she'll know to wear something more substantial underneath.

Was this at the belt where you put your stuff in the trays? I wouldn’t have a problem with that

Speaking as a frequent T5 occasional T2 user…

At actual start of the process - where you are asked directed to the bins to put laptops etc in, and told remove bulky items of clothing .there is usually only one operator, so it’s pot luck whether they are male or female..I take it that is where the request happened?

If having gone through the archway you trigger a physical search search in my experience there’s should always a male and female operator available for obvious reasons….

Yep, jackets, anything seemingly bulky off before going through the archway scanners has been standard has been

OPs ignore orphan last para..

I think some of the responsibility sits with you also, OP

If you’re going to expect your daughter to fly as an unaccompanied minor, you should make sure she has packed and dressed appropriately for the flight, and is prepared for the process of getting through security and to the gate

This is standard at an airport.

If your daughter is uncomfortable with standard airport procedures she might not be ready to fly alone yet.

This is really normal, I totally understand it made her feel uncomfortable but you are always asked to remove extra layers at security.

I'm not sure what you could reasonably complain about if I'm honest!

I’d it was zipped, would the zip set off the scanner?

Maybe he was just trying to prevent that and saved her having to be patted down.

I think encouraging your dd to remember this protocol and wear clothes she is comfortable in underneath her hoody are the sensible next steps. Also reassuring her this is normal and wasn't done for any sinister reason.

If the security need bulky clothing off they need bulky clothing off. They can't pick who keeps on hoodys by guessing what each person wears underneath and how they feel about it.

I get it with coats jackets boots etc and was on the fence about this which is why i asked you all. I have spoken to her about making sure she is comfortable with her underlayer. But this hoodie thing is new to our world ( as in this term!)and she has certainly learnt her lesson.

Thanks for replying.

If not I’d

We’ve always been asked to take hoodies off and put them through the X-ray machine.
There’s nothing to complain about.

This would not stand up as a complaint.
It is standard to remove an outer layer of clothing. I fly with a long cardigan on - it's not even a solid one, it's an open knit type, and I still have to take it off every single time I go through security.

It's sad that she was unnerved, but the officer was doing his job and maybe she should have known that, unless it was her first time flying.

Sorry, totally normal to remove bulky outerwear. Please dont complain, they guy was just doing his job.
Maybe talk about what clothes to wear on the return flight so that removing a bulky jumper wont leave her feeling exposed.

She flies about 6 return times a year 3 of those by herself. Had survived her grandfather dropping her at the wrong terminal, which she took in her stride. 🤦🏻‍♀️ it is a teenage body conscious thing combined with not thinking. Not a massive drama but since i have never worn a baggy hoodie i was just curious from a UK perspective. I am also tempering my protective response with being realistic and you have all reassured me that this was us dropping the ball and nothing sinister. Thank you

Was she uncomfortable because she was embarrassed or did she feel threatened. There’s a difference I think.