T5 Security review: Their treatment of a passenger with a CGMS

Dear Heathrow Airport Security Team,

I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the treatment I received at Security in Terminal 5 on 15 May 2026, while travelling on British Airways flight BA448 (LHR → IBZ), departing at 10:50, seat 18E.

I wear a Libre 2 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, which cannot safely pass through full‑body scanners. I explained this clearly to staff at the outset and provided the official CAA letter confirming the requirement for an alternative screening method. Despite this, staff appeared unable to understand me, and communication was extremely difficult.

I was made to feel like an inconvenience and “like a leper”. I was left waiting for approximately 45 minutes while my friends proceeded through security. During this time, my personal belongings—placed through the scanner at staff instruction—were left unattended at the end of the conveyor belt, accessible to anyone passing by. This is a serious security lapse.

My medical bag was taken away for searching, carried around the scanner, and then left to one side on the far side of security with no supervision. When I finally passed through (after a manager eventually arrived and turned off the scanner), I asked for his medical bag and was met with, “How do we know it’s yours?” The manager who had taken it from him was no longer present to confirm. Staff only returned it reluctantly.

Throughout this ordeal, I was subjected to tutting and impatience from other passengers who assumed I was being difficult, when in fact I was simply following medical and regulatory requirements. The lack of staff training, poor communication, and disregard for both my medical needs and my dignity were deeply troubling.

I request that this incident be formally investigated, that staff at Terminal 5 receive appropriate training on handling passengers with medical devices such as CGMS, and that assurances be provided that unattended personal effects will not be left vulnerable in future.

I feel that I deserve an apology, and future passengers deserve better.