Businessman forced to drop trousers at Birmingham Airport

A businessman who had to drop his pants at Birmingham Airport to prove to security officers he'd had a hip replacement has described the incident as "prehistoric".

Nigel Lloyd-Jones, 59, informed security officers at the airport that he'd undergone the surgery, and was likey to set off the metal detectors.

But, despite this, he was taken into a room with two officers, who asked him to lower his trousers to show them the surgery scar.

Mr Lloyd, an owner of an events company, was flying to visit a German client on 9 April when the incident occurred.

He had previously taken 64 European flights since his surgery following a motorbike accident in November 2011, most of which had been departing from Birmingham. But this was the first time he had been asked to show his scar.

Mr Lloyd-Jones spoke to the Birmingham Mail about his experience, saying: "It was clearly very uncomfortable for the security guards and very uncomfortable for me.

"The thought of my 86-year-old mother or my 76-year-old aunt to be put through such an indignity beggars belief. No-one seems to be able to tell me why this now has to be a requirement when we have bodyscanners and other state-of-the-art screening technology.

"It's clearly come from a very senior level. What does it say about their faith in the technology?

"According to Birmingham Airport security this has only been implemented in the last three to four weeks and has been imposed after an external security review by representatives of the Department of Transport.

"I would like to see these new surgery scar procedures published, so those who have gone through such operations can make up their own minds on whether they wish to travel via Birmingham."

According to the Daily Mail, a spokesman for Birmingham Airport said: "Security is paramount at Birmingham Airport and all necessary security measures are implemented as and when required.

"On occasion it can become necessary for security officers to conduct additional search procedures.

"This can include a private search or a body scanner search.

"Private searches are conducted by two security officers, of the same gender as the passenger, and every effort is made to undertake this procedure as sensitively as possible."

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