Campaign Organiser, Rachel Humphrey has worked closely with the Civil Aviation Authority’s Head of Security, Mr Peter Drissell over the summer by relaying poor experiences sent to her through the campaign. Mr Drissell personally raised each complaint with the relevant airport and his proactive approach has led to a significant increase in awareness and decrease in incidents.

Rachel also directly contacted all major UK airports before the busy summer season asking them to remind their staff of the security protocols with regards to medical devices, including Heathrow’s CEO, Mr Chris Garton, who in 2016 was the Executive Vice President of Operations at Dubai Airport when the original incident which sparked the campaign occurred. Mr Garton took swift action at the time and can be seen pointing to Rachel’s letter in a Trade Arabia article (view here).

On 4 October, Mr Alex Beveridge, Head of Security at Heathrow Terminal 3 met Rachel with her 2 sons, Tom and George (who wears an Accu-Chek Insight insulin pump and Freestyle Libre sensor) before they boarded a flight to Los Angeles.

Mr Beveridge explained their procedures for medical devices and then escorted them through security, where they had the opportunity to discuss some of the issues that can occur. These include the lack of awareness with some Security Officers who insist that the medical devices can go through x-ray and/or the body scanners, which directly conflicts with the advice provided by insulin pump manufacturers (read more) and could have dangerous medical consequences. As well as the potential damage to the devices, Rachel also explained that the stress often experienced at airport security can have a negative impact on the passenger’s blood sugars, which can cause both hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). They both agreed that staff training and regular reminders of the protocols is key.

Upon arrival at security, George showed the Security Officer his hospital letter which explained that his insulin pump and Freestyle Libre sensor should not be exposed to the x-ray machine or the body scanner. He was taken to a private room, hand searched and a swab was used which detects traces of explosives. The procedure took approximately 5 minutes and the alternative screening ensured the safety of passengers and air travel at no cost to his medical devices.

We hope that your experience at airport security has been a positive one this summer and would like to remind you of the PDF that we have prepared to help clarify the situation and alleviate stress - download here. Please let us know of your experience by emailing Rachel at rachel@ufofreight.com.

PLUS! We hope to announce some more good news in regards to our campaign in due course - watch this space…