'You're made to feel like a criminal' - cancer survivor screamed at for stoma at airport

A cancer survivor said he was screamed at by airport security staff and "made to feel like a criminal" after trying to retrieve his stoma supplies from his luggage.

Paul Scanlon, from Cardiff, has had a stoma for nearly four years after being diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer and said he had suffered "degrading" and "humiliating" treatment at UK airports.

It has led a charity to call for better training for airport staff, so people with stomas are treated with "dignity" and "respect".

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said airports must ensure staff had disability awareness training and that security officers were expected to treat people in a "sensitive and understanding" way.

Paul, 57, said travel had always been something he enjoyed - even more so since his diagnosis.

"When you've gone through what we've gone through over the last four years, it makes you really appreciate that you can go away," he said.

Paul had been initially reluctant to have a stoma - an opening in the abdomen - that allows waste to leave the body and into a bag - after having his large bowel removed because of the size of his tumours.

"It's having your bum on your belly and it's not for the faint-hearted, but it's a lifesaver," he said.

"I don't know if you 100% come to terms with it. You end up just living with it."

What Paul did not expect to have to come to terms with was hostility at airports.

Paul said he was once told by security to remove his stoma bag at a UK airport - something he is unable to do.

His most recent experience was at Cardiff Airport while travelling on holiday with his wife, Deborah, and their friends.

He said he had been "screamed" at after trying to remove his bag of stoma supplies from the conveyor belt after security screening.

"This very large gentleman started shouting and screaming 'you can't touch that bag, leave it alone, get away'," he said.

"He kept walking towards me, shouting and screaming. He and his colleague escorted me, one flank to either side, into an interview room where I was searched.

"Everyone can see going through that airport. Anyone can see. You're just made to feel like a criminal."

Paul said he was "mortified" and, while understanding the need to keep everyone safe, felt there was a lack of "dignity, compassion and empathy".

During the incident, Deborah and their friends were also left waiting without any explanation of where he had been taken.

"If you're in that job, you should be looking at treating people with respect," he said.

Cardiff Airport said, when additional screening was required, passengers could be offered a private search room "to help ensure the process is carried out with dignity and discretion".

It also said its teams had training "to help them better understand the experiences of people living with a stoma and ensure any necessary screening is carried out sensitively, respectfully and appropriately".

A spokesperson said that while the company did not comment on individual cases, anyone unhappy with an experience was encouraged to contact the airport so it could review what happened.

Paul said the experiences had left him reluctant to travel through airports.

"It's completely changed my thought process of going on holiday. I don't want to fly," he said.

His next holiday will be a cruise leaving from Southampton, allowing him to avoid the stress he associates with flying.

"I've got next year to get through and I'll be hopefully cancer free. You know, we've got loads of life left in us and we still want to go on holiday."

Paul's experience is not unique, according to the Ileostomy and Internal Pouch Association (IA).

Its survey had received 70 responses and identified 16 different UK airports where people had reported negative stoma-related incidents.

IA chief executive officer Lisa Barker said people were being pressured to make a choice between living with a stoma and getting to travel, and that airport security procedures caused "a lot of stress and anxiety".

The organisation offered a free service providing travel certificates explaining a person's condition that can be shown to airport staff, but Lisa said she wanted that information translated into better understanding.

"What we want is that once that information is shared, the knowledge about that then enables them to have a dignified process," she said.

Emma Greenwood, a stoma and pouch care specialist nurse, who also has a stoma, said she had faced similar problems at airports.

"If you're spoken to abruptly or fairly aggressively in some situations, it can naturally be quite upsetting and it can have a negative impact on your holiday," she said.

Emma said people with stomas or pouches could be self-conscious and sensitive and might be particularly concerned about being embarrassed during security checks.

"It's a quick win to be kind to someone," she said.

"It's not a massive adjustment that the majority of people are asking for."

The CAA said it placed obligations on airports "to ensure their staff receive disability awareness training" and expected security officers to engage with passengers in "a sensitive and understanding manner".

Disability Wales said the issue was not limited to people with stomas.

Access to politics policy officer Kat Watkins, who has brittle bone disease, said she had experienced several negative incidents including damage to her wheelchair and being left on the plane for an hour while waiting for assistance.

She said Disability Wales wanted air travel to be "made more equitable for disabled people".

The CAA said it strongly believed that "everyone should have access to air travel" and continued to "work closely with organisations and charities representing disabled passengers to ensure guidance to airports and passengers is clear and concise".