Will my medical device, prosthesis or implant need to be searched?
Airports aim to ensure all passengers have a positive experience throughout the airport and are treated with dignity and care at the security gateway. Passengers and their baggage will need to go through airport security before reaching the departure area. For this purpose, most UK airports are directed by the Department for Transport (DfT) to use security (body) scanners to screen departing passengers from the UK.
Passengers who are fitted with external and internal medical devices, and prosthetic devices are encouraged to inform the Security Officer. If the Security Officer assesses that a passenger wearing or fitted with a medical device is not suitable for screening by the security scanner, then an alternative search process will be used to suit the circumstances the passenger has declared.
The screener may ask to see the medical device to complete the screening process. For such passengers, an airport may, depending on its local policies, offer for, or require, this screening to be carried out in a private area (not on the lane), so that a sufficient search can be completed whilst protecting the dignity of the passenger. You are entitled to select a Security Officer of the gender of your choice. As part of the private search, you may be asked to remove or loosen clothing to enable the security team to screen the item. We appreciate that this process can be uncomfortable, and we appreciate your assistance to help the screening procedure to take place.
Any passenger who elects to opt out of a security scanner search for non-medical reasons is required to have an ‘enhanced search in private’. It will likely add additional time to your journey and will involve a more in-depth hand search in a private search area. Further details can be found here. If a passenger refuses to be screened in accordance with DfT requirements and the instructions of the Security Officer, they will not be permitted access to the restricted part of the airport beyond security and will not be able to board a flight.