Period pants and airport security!

[Fuwari]

Be warned! They can cause problems. Catching a flight this morning. The main arch beeped as i went through so I had to have the full body scan and I could see clearly on the screen the outline of my body and a big yellow square of the period pants! I then had to try and explain to the male security what they are, he had to feel my ass to check! So embarrassing. So be wary of wearing these when flying!

Bloody hell! So would a sanitary towel flash up yellow too?

I went through on Thursday wearing period pants. I got bleeped, and had to do the body scan. Nothing was mentioned, or asked about my pants. The lady body searching me did say that the area of concern was around my waist (may have been being polite!), but apart from checking my waistband and pockets, and then using hand wand to check, nothing out of the ordinary happened or was asked. She seemed to think ot was my jeans button/zip (again, may have been being polite).

Happened to me recently too. I live in the US where everyone (with a small number of medical exemptions) has to go through a whole body scanner every time. My period knickers showed up as a yellow square over my crotch and it bleeped so I then had to be wand scanned.

They did the wand on me first but didn't seem satisfied with that. Although it probably felt like it took longer than it did. Embarrassing moments seem to stretch time!

Why on earth was a male security guard touching your private parts OP? Are you a man?

Yes! It's embarrassing, I forgot I had a heat pad for period cramps going through heathrow airport as well! 😩

Well he just kind of patted the ass area over my clothes! Not full on groping 😂

Which airport was this OP? Are you ok? Flown UK and various European cities and they always ensure a woman does these security checks for a woman, never a man

Still not ok, OP. Didn't they have any females there?

I always wear them when flying - period or not - because they’re comfortable for long flights when you don’t want to faff with liners etc. I wore them last week on a flight. I got beeped because I forgot to take my watch off 🙄and had to do the scan, but there were no issues with my pants

I have been through airport security a lot and I have never, ever been body searched by a man.

Heathrow. I guess they did. I didn't think too much of it other than the embarrassment. If that is the case I am wondering now if I thought it was a male but was a female.

Explosives in an airport scanner would show up as a yellow/orange mass (but usually with a wire attached) hopefully period pants become so popular they have more awareness!

I recall that some of the online shops selling period pants warn this is a possibility

I really doubt the correct procedure is for a male to pay down a female. I worked in prisons for many years and no male officer would make that "mistake" innocently. If I were you I'd enquire whether that should have happened.

It’s not ok for anyone to be touch you without asking you, then it should be same sex as yourself

its wrong and that man needs retraining

The OP has said it might have been a woman.

What is it in period pants that causes the alarm to trigger?

In which airport did a male security guard pat you down @Fuwari? I work at airports across the world and it is a standard policy for women ONLY to be searched by women. Precisely to avoid this sort of outrage. You are entitled to ask for any search to be conducted in private. Any full body scanner screen will not be visible to anyone but the equipment operator, who will be used to this sort of thing.

How interesting. I'm currently in an airport wearing period pants and yes I got full scanned on the way in. I did wonder why!

You are aware that the visibility of all period products is much the same and period pants just look like sanitary towels?

Its not a flight security issue any more than wearing a towel

(don't feed the urban myth)

Cross posted. No male security guard at Heathrow would search a woman, and their colleagues would not permit it either. Heathrow is my home base. You are either mistaken or have been violated and should complain at the soonest opportunity. It will result in the security guard being sacked because it is a serious breach of safeguarding.

Male security staff would never search a female pax at the airport in UK, report it immediately if this has occurred or your mistaken

Anyone feeling that they have been singled out for scanning because they are on their period - Heathrow is moving towards everyone being scanned. Some other airports around the world already scan everyone.

A male security officer touched you intimately, and felt your sanitary protection? In no way is this appropriate. I take it you're making a complaint.