A distraught mum claims she was forced to cancel family holiday after autistic son suffered a "panic attack" while being searched by security at UK airport.
Luna Muñoz and her son Eli, 15, were due to fly from Manchester to Boston, Massachusetts, to visit family they have not seen for three years.
Eli had been given a sunflower lanyard to alert staff that he had special needs, but when he triggered the metal detector in security he had to be hand-searched.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Luna claims Eli started to “grimace” and cry while being searched, before running away in distress and having a panic attack.
She said: "I had to excuse myself to the bathroom to just cry.
"I didn’t want Eli to see that. I thought, I don't think we’re going to be protected or safe beyond this point."
It was a holiday they had been looking forward to for years, but Luna said she couldn’t face the possibility of further distress for Eli, and so cancelled the family's trip and returned home to Liverpool, Merseyside.
Luna said: "We haven’t seen family in three years now, and this was our chance. It has been a long, long time. It was a hard choice. But we talked about it as a family and thought no, it’s not worth it."
The mum claims she made enquiries about special assistance for Eli before setting off on Wednesday (June 1).
She claims his special needs entitlement included giving Eli more time to process instructions, such as at security, and finding ways in which Eli would be comfortable to be searched.
Luna said she tried to speak to security staff about carrying out the search in a way Eli would find manageable, but her son had already been touched on the back and shoulder.
The mum added that this was "intimate touching" and claims Eli had already started to show distress.
Luna said: "I don’t even hug my child unless I have consent... and it’s been a while. I understand this person has to do their job. But touching someone on their shoulders or their back is intimate touching, that’s not touching to do their jobs."
She added: "They were trying to be reassuring, but for a person with special needs, that’s not reassuring.
"You don’t expect special treatment, but there is a way to do it. You do expect a little more in terms of time and patience."
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said they are "satisfied" that their staff did what they could to reassure Eli and Luna in this instance.
Airport staff also maintain that Eli's visible lanyard was taken into consideration during the incident.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “The security of our passengers and staff is of paramount importance and our security process must be applied consistently. In this case, the passenger activated a walk-through metal detector and so a hand search was necessary, in line with security regulations.
“Our security team explained to the passenger and his mother why this was necessary prior to conducting the search.
"Security colleagues are trained in how to engage with passengers who have hidden disabilities such as autism and we are satisfied that they did their best to reassure the passengers concerned in this instance.
“We are, however, sorry to hear they found the experience distressing and would welcome any feedback from Ms Munoz on how she feels the process could be improved.”
