Disability campaigner former Corrie star in airport security scanner ordeal
AN ACTOR and disability campaigner says she was given a full body search at Manchester Airport after security scanners failed to recognise her disability.
Former Coronation Street star Melissa Johns, who was born without her right forearm, says she was stopped by airport staff before flying to Prague on Sunday afternoon after the alarm was triggered as she underwent a full body security scan.
Ms Johns, who played Imogen Pascoe in Corrie from 2017 to 2019 and also starred in Manchesterbased BBC drama Life, said staff told her the machine ‘doesn’t quite pick up your body’ and was then asked to undergo a full body search instead.
She later tweeted the machine ‘couldn’t detect my body as I don’t have 4 full limbs’, adding: “Discriminated against by a robot, what a time to be alive.”
Ms Johns told the M.E.N.: “The lights were flashing red and they said you will have to do a full body search. Even at this point I didn’t realise. I said ‘Is it my earrings or my necklace?’ She was so polite. She said ‘I think it doesn’t quite pick up your body’ and then I realised and I was able to finish off the sentence for her.”
She said airport staff were ‘absolutely fantastic’, but said the design of the machine was an example of the ‘unconscious bias’ disabled people face.
Ms Johns added: “Some people will say it’s PC gone mad, it’s just a machine, let it do its job.
“And I agree the most important thing in an airport is security.
“But I would also like to live in a world where when we are planning these machines voices with different lived experiences are involved.”
A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear Ms Johns was not happy with her experience when passing though security at Manchester but are pleased to note her positive comments about the conduct of our team member.
“All equipment used at Manchester is certified for use by the DfT, and our officers are obliged to follow specific instructions when using security scanners. This includes what to do when they are set off and further checks are required. We cannot comment on the reasons for scanners being set off, all of which are beyond our control, but will ensure this feedback is passed on to the relevant authorities.”