Considering the increased spate of violent attacks at airports over the past year, it’s understandable that the level of security has to be raised at all times.
But man, the steps that security personnel at Frankfurt Airport took recently may be way over the line, at the expense of a Singaporean mum’s dignity.
Gayathiri Bose, 33, had the humiliating experience of being made to prove that she was lactating when German police became suspicious that she was carrying a breast pump sans a baby.
Speaking to BBC, Bose recounted that she was on her way to board a flight to Paris last Thursday when she got stopped at the security screening station. She was taken aside for questioning after authorities found that her carry-on bag contained an electrical device — a Spectra S1 Plus Double Breast Pump.
As she was travelling alone without her baby, officers didn’t believe her when she said that the device was a breast pump — they doubted that she was even breastfeeding.
Withholding her passport, Bose was directed to a room, where a female police officer questioned her further. According to Bose’s account, the officer didn’t seem to know how breast pumps work, and wanted her to prove that she was lactating. By motioning Bose to squeeze her own breast.
As you can imagine, the whole ordeal — which lasted nearly 45 minutes — was traumatising for the mother of two.
“I was just in shock, I was going through the motions. I was all by myself as well, and wasn’t sure what would happen to me if they decided to make trouble for me,” she said to BBC.
“It was only when I came out of the room that I began to slowly understand what had just happened. I just started to cry, I was terribly upset.”
She was cleared soon after, and they allowed her to board the plane to Paris. The officer was said to have been totally indifferent to the Singaporean’s visible distress.
Bose has since filed a complaint with the German police, and she’s considering legal action against them for the “humiliating experience. A spokesman for the German federal police unit at Frankfurt Airport decline to comment on the allegations, but stated that the steps were “clearly” not part of standard operating procedures.
