Airport stops woman over fake leg

Vicki Gilbert had her leg amputated in 1996

A Leeds woman has claimed airport officials asked her to remove her artificial leg to prove she needed to take medication on board a plane.

Vicki Gilbert was stopped as she tried to catch a flight home from Southampton Airport because she was carrying cream she needs for her artificial limb.

Creams were banned from flights after August's terror alert and a note from Ms Gilbert's doctor was not accepted.

The airport said it took her complaint seriously and invited her to a meeting.

Ms Gilbert, 31, had her leg amputated in 1996 after she was wrongly diagnosed with cancer. She later received £1.2m in damages.

'Humiliated'

The mother-of-two regularly travels to Hampshire for appointments with a prosthetic limb specialist.

She said she could not understand why she was stopped as she had never had any problems taking the cream on flights in the past.

"It makes me laugh because I just think 'where are my human rights and my dignity in that type of situation?' I was humiliated."

After refusing to take off her artificial limb the pilot agreed he would carry Ms Gilbert's creams in the cockpit and she would have to ask for them if she needed them.

Passengers cannot take creams on board without medical notes

Her doctor Bob Watts said: "Amputees have got a mountain to climb anyway and one of the things that an amputee would tell you is that they just want to be the same as everyone else, but they can't.

"But for some official to actually highlight the problem that they have got and get them to stand out in front of everyone else must be dreadful."

Last month Southampton Airport won an award for its accessibility to disabled customers.

A spokesman said: "We take issues raised by passengers very seriously and always strive for high levels of customer service whilst maintaining a safe and secure environment."

Ms Gilbert has been invited to discuss her concerns with the airport management.