Airport 'humiliates' athlete By Kelly Ryan 23apr03
A VICTORIAN schoolgirl athlete says she has been humiliated by airport security staff who poked and prodded her artificial leg.
Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy said she was humiliated when made to prove her right leg was a prosthesis in front of dozens of other horrified airline passengers. But the 16-year-old Luther College student from Croydon said she was not the only disabled athlete forced to undergo checks on Sunday.
Others, including some in wheelchairs who had competed in the week-long 12th National Junior Games for the Disabled, were also stopped for physical checks at Adelaide Airport when security barriers and hand-held wands beeped.
"It is quite clear when I lift my pants that I wear a leg prosthesis," Miss O'Kelly-Kennedy said.
"I had also given it a few whacks so there was no doubt that it sounded like a false leg.
"It was too much that security staff then chose to frisk me, from ankle to hip, in front of dozens of other passengers.
"I had already taken my shoes off, which made standing difficult, and I was not even offered a seat."
The talented student, who also plays basketball with the able-bodied Park Orchards Steelers, said she had been made to feel like a criminal.
Born with a shortened leg, she said she had striven to ensure her condition did not prevent her from enjoying a full life.
"Wherever I go, I know I will always be a bit different, but I don't let it affect me.
"But what happened on Sunday puts my difference in a whole new and negative public light."
The champion said it was the first time she had been subjected to such embarrassing airport security.
"I was once taken aside for a check at Hobart but that was in the privacy of a closed room and with sensitive security staff."
Miss O'Kelly-Kennedy, Australia's tallest female basketballer, is training for the Athens Paralympics next year.
Her father, lecturer Terry Kennedy, was at Adelaide Airport to witness his daughter's humiliation. He has demanded an apology and explanation from Chubb Protective Services.
"It was sad after a great week in South Australia that some kids left in tears or angry at how they had been treated at the airport," Mr Kennedy said.
A Chubb spokeswoman apologised for inconvenience to passengers, but said it was committed to heightened security at all airports since September 11.