They allegedly backed out after seeing her European husband.
An Indian woman, Shruthi Basappa, travelling from Bengaluru to Iceland on Wednesday was told to strip during a security check by Frankfurt airport officers, reports NDTV.
The authorities backed- ut only after the 30-year-old woman's husband came into the room after she insisted. She said that the attitude of the authorities changed soon after her husband came to the room. "Are brown people not suspicious if we have European partners or co-travellers?" she wrote on her Facebook page.
Alleging racial profiling, Basappa said that having lived in the Europe she was accustomed to "random" security checks and pat downs, but this incident took it too far.
Basappa said she now fears to think what could have happened if she was alone and her husband was not European, she said to NDTV.
A verified Facebook account of Frankfurt airport responded to Ms Basappa's Facebook post "I am shocked to hear that. Of course it is not the standard protocol reserved for anyone. We would appreciate your detailed feedback. What happened exactly? When and where was it?" the Frankfurt Airport Team replied.
Few months earlier, a woman of Indian-origin was asked to squeeze her breasts to verify if she was actually breast-feeding.
Full text of her post:
After a not-so-pleasant flight with Lufthansa today, all I was dreaming about a soft hotel bed to crash into. But the fantastic folk at the Frankfurt airport made it memorable for me. As is wont with folk with melanin several doses more than our pale skinned compatriots, I am always the 'chosen one' for random security checks - pat down, baggage check, lets take you into a room for a closer pat down etc. Of course it is random. Of course it is not because I am brown. But this happens every time. Every. Single. Time. (I travel with Einar so let's not get into the 'its all in your head honey, this is for the larger safety' talk. He has never been stopped.)
Today though, I was asked to remove the dress I was wearing. Yes. Remove my clothes. Is this the new norm? Isn't it enough to always be the one random person picked out of line that now I need to wrap my head around the fact that I might be asked to strip? Do I need to wax my legs? Do I need to carefully put together a special 'for travel lingerie' set that has nothing to do with seducing my husband but more about hiding the outrage, anger, humiliation and disgust that is an inevitable part of travelling through airports?
Update: Been in touch with the Frankfurt Airport Authorities and awaiting a reply.
Basappa's post on the Airport's Facebook page:
I would like to know if it is regular protocol to ask passengers to remove their clothing, be in their underwear as part of 'random security checks'. I am an Indian passport holder, my husband is Icelandic and I have an Icelandic residence permit and we were on our way to our next transit flight to Berlin. We were travelling to Iceland from India, via Frankfurt with our 4 year old daughter when I was asked to move aside for this 'random check', no explanations offered. I was taken into a room, and was asked to lift my dress/ take it off so that I could be checked to make sure I wasn't 'carrying anything under my clothes'. This whole ordeal happened in front of my 4 year old. I was given no explanation as to why I was put through this ordeal. I specifically requested for a regular scan, using whatever equipment is in place despite the fact that I had just gone through a body scan, given that 1. It is absolutely ridiculous to be stripping in an airport no less, for no reason. 2. It is violating. My constant requests to be patted down gently because of a recent abdominal surgery (proof of which I was carrying on hand) was constantly ignored and resulted in being shouted at aggressively by the woman in charge. She then proceeded to call her supervisor who parroted the same lines about how they wanted me to take my dress off. I would really like to hear from the #FrankfurtAirport authorities if this is the norm? Why are passengers being asked to take their clothes off? I hate to play the race card here, but I was the only person pulled aside and peeking at my husband instantly changed the woman's mind about the strip search that was now a regular pat down. I'd appreciate a response from you at the earliest.
Find the posts here and here on Facebook.
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