To wonder if I look dodgy?

[TheCatOfAthenry]

Flying London to Ireland. Every time I go through airport security I seem to get frisked. Also happened in France, Czech Republic and Spain.

For a few years, I really thought it was just luck, but am beginning to wonder if I just look like a shady character.

Share my woes, please. Or tell me how to de-dodge myself.

We heard a story recently about a woman who trains guide dog puppies. One day she was coming home and they had sniffer dogs at the airport, one of them was all over her and she was taken on one side by the airport security/police. The only way that she could prove that she had nothing incriminating on her apart from being searched was by telling them the dog's previous name - it was a former guide dog puppy that hadn't been suitable to be a guide dog but she'd been his trainer before he went to the police as a sniffer dog.

I used to get it a fair bit when flying but have not travelled last few years. I think it's because of political views /Irish background.

Temporaryanonymity I always get searched at the football too, but then so does everyone entering Old Trafford via the turnstiles. This season they increased security even more and we've now been told to arrive two hours before kick off due to the queues to ensure that we don't miss the start of the match. Apparently, and I can't vouch for this as I don't buy anything inside, they're now doing an Happy Hour to encourage people to get in early.

And I am a dark haired, dark eyed olive skinned woman between 30-50.

Semtex and marzipan look exactly the the same on a scanner

Well there you go! I don't even know what semtex is ... it sounds like you'd find it in a sex-shop though.

When I was young, 20s,30s, early 40s, it happened to me every bloody time too. One bf, when I complained about it, said it was because I was attractive.

As it doesn't happen now I'm old and fat, I think he might have been right. I expect that's your problem, op.

I get searched and swabbed every time I travel. Ive gotten used to it now and make sure I allow extra time for security. I'm very heavily tattooed and shave my head which I guess draws attention to me. I'm normally travelling with teenagers to and from a residential trip so they find it absolutely hysterical that their Christian youth worker who hates drugs is the one that gets stopped.

I get it all the time, apparently I itch my nose a lot (nervous habit I suppose) and that's a body language sign for lying

Ooh @BaronessBomburst maybe that's why I get searched so much - always travel very light, normally hand luggage only... Just went away for 8 days with just a little roly suitcase as hand luggage!

Me and DP flew to Normandy via a very small airline and the flight had about 15 passengers on it. I was the only one searched. I was the only black passenger.

I use a wheelchair so always get frisked and the chair swabbed, even when I use an airport wheelchair. Anyone travelling with my does too. I actually thought everyone got frisked now.

We went to the theatre this weekend and it has increased security. I knew this and emptied my handbag of everything but essentials. I had medication with me in a small clear plastic pot. I took it with my food before we went in. I was asked what this empty run was for, they then sniffed it before letting me in. That was a bit and I smuggled in a cushion which was on the banned list. Such a rebel, I enjoyed that cushion all night!!

DH always gets frisked at airports, apparently it's just random and bad luck! He's about as far from looking dodgy as you can get! 😂

When I first started coming to this country from Ireland with a group of friends as students, we were pulled over and searched almost every time. At the beginning, my boyfriend and other male friends used to get pulled over and questioned less if I was with them, but then Roisin McAlliskey started being in the news, and having a woman with them stopped making a difference. But there's no mystery at all about why that was happening, obviously, though that didn't make it any more pleasant to realise that your accent and passport automatically profiled you as suspicious.

I asked as it was happening to me every single time I flew. Was assured it was random. Yeah whatever

I always get pulled for frisking/extra scanning, even when travelling with 3 kids and my police officer husband!
I have big norks and lots of metal in my underwiring which I wonder sets off the scanners!

My DH gets a good frisking every single time. It will be a miracle when he's isn't stopped. He looks like Dwayne Johnson's double, bit shady so fully understand the reason for frisking.

I've got a metal leg and in one particular airport I was asked to show the scars from the op.. it was like they didn't believe me!!

Semtex is an explosive.

I can't remember the last time I didn't get frisked, when flying internationally.

Scrawny white male, traveling with children.

My tattoos seem to always get me frisked! They light up on the scanner and then I get called over so I don't know if that has a bearing on anything...

I am white and ginger. I usually get stopped. I am beginning to suspect it's my loose clothes OR I look so whiteEuropean and dull I am being picked because they don't want to look as though they're just profiling!

I never used to get frisked, but do now. I think it is just random. I got the full pat down and being swabbed in Orlando last year, but someone on MN said it was because I was wearing a maxi dress and you can hide all sorts of things under a maxi. They were very polite so it wasn't a problem.

DD had her bag very thoroughly searched this year because there was a pencil eraser in it (she likes drawing and often carries a small sketch book and drawing stuff with her).

I know that in shops pregnant ladies, people with prams/pushchairs and larger people do get followed more because there is more opportunity to hide something and not pay for it. I am slim and it would look obvious if I was trying to hide something on me.

I've long though that if you want to smuggle something use a middle class, middle aged dumpy, white woman. I've never been stopped or searched despite setting scanner alarm off numerous times and cartilage quantities of tablets in my hand luggage. I even carried on 2litres of water coming back from Egypt a few years back.

The girls are hardly ever stopped except the youngest who looks about 12 - immigration staff always think she's being trafficked or something when she travels alone and want to meet the person picking her up (usually me).

My sons have been stopped a lot for having a) a jif lemon in their hand luggage(to lighten their hair in the sun apparently), several empty ammunition cartridges (souvenirs from a tour which he'd forgotten about) and just for being young males with lots of visa stamps.

Aww to the ex-guide dog puppy.

In one flight out I spotted a dpd handler and a leggy teenage springer watching the crowds at Manchester.

Having sprinters myself I sidled over for a chat, handler was happy for me to fuss the dog, we chatted about training for a while. Dog was almost ready to start work, they were just doing a few more socialisation runs.

Dog was on his first shift on our journey home, he remembered me AND I had bonios in my luggage for my own dogs.

Handler was very apologetic, it took them half an hour to search me and my cases. My travelling companions (in laws) were not impressed.

We've travelled with them since. MIL won't let me fuss working dogs