Brought to Tears: Flyer Who Was Asked to Remove Prosthetic Leg

A differently-abled woman was brought to tears after Mumbai airport staff made her remove her prosthetic leg.

A 24-year-old differently-abled woman was left in tears at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) on Saturday after security staff made her take off her prosthetic leg and pass it through the luggage scanner along with other passengers’ baggage.

The disgruntled passenger took to Twitter to speak about the embarrassing incident.

@CSIAMumbai @MumbaiCentral forced to take off jeans, had prosthetic leg passed through a scanner, and brought to tears. Happy journey to me

— Antara Telang (@AntaraT) January 30, 2016

Most airports use an ETD (explosives trace detector) machine to check prosthetic limbs. She later tweeted a better experience at Bengaluru’s airport.

As usual, excellent experience at @kempegowda_air - prosthetic checked with an etd machine, courteous staff. @CSIAMumbai you can learn here

— Antara Telang (@AntaraT) February 1, 2016

Telang, the director of a startup, lost her leg after a tree collapsed on her when she was just 18 and is a frequent traveller.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which manages security at airports, told The Asian Age that no complaint had yet been received.

We have not received any such complaint from Ms Telang yet. Our staff is well-trained and there is no chance of misbehaviour. We will still investigate and take action if anyone is found guilty. At the same time, the city is already on high alert and we have to ensure security.

Hemendra Kumar, Deputy Commandant (public relations office) of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to The Asian Age