Luton Airport has been accused of possible breaches of Equality Law, after its security officer displayed pro-Palestine accessories, and gave full body searches to Jewish children and a baby.

A Jewish Israeli family, travelling to Israel, told UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) about their concerns, after they had been stopped at security by the obviously pro-Palestine security officer.  They felt humiliated and intimidated when on 26 August, the security officer singled them out. He was wearing ribbon in the shape of an Israeli “hostage” ribbon, not in the usual yellow to remember the Israeli hostages, but in Palestinian colours.  He also wore a Palestine flag bracelet and had a phone with a cover displaying a Palestine flag, which he placed on the floor, in view of the passengers he had stopped.

The Jewish passenger told UKLFI that he felt ashamed and singled out when he and his children were given a full body check. “It seemed we were targeted specifically because of our Jewish identity,” he said.

UKLFI has written to Luton Airport’s legal department pointing out that the treatment of this family may breach Section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) by harassing Jewish and Israeli customers, in that it created a hostile and intimidating atmosphere in the airport for them.

A spokesperson for UKLFI commented: “If the security guard covers himself in pro-Palestine symbols and then targets Israelis for special searches, the Israelis are liable to fear they are being singled out for special treatment. It is obviously inappropriate for security staff to display their political affiliations.  We hope that Luton will clarify its dress code and suitably reprimand staff who breach it.”

Luton Airport was involved in an earlier controversy in late 2024, when Alon Penzel, the author of a book about 7 October called “Testimonies without Boundaries”, was stopped and harangued by a security guard about Israel and its existence.  He was accused of starting a protest because he carried a placard advertising his book, which hadn’t fitted into his suitcase, and he was subsequently detained for some time at the airport gate.  Mr Penzel has issued a claim in court against Luton Airport for false imprisonment.

Update 2.9.25

Luton Airport has responded to UKLFI saying: ” We are sorry to hear of any distress experienced by the family and take every concern about discrimination extremely seriously. Our teams are committed to carrying out all mandatory security checks with sensitivity and respect and we have zero tolerance for discriminatory behaviour, with a clear and consistent uniform policy for all staff.   For the safety and security of all our passengers and staff, additional screening is sometimes required, for example, when indicated by the body scanner. We have carefully reviewed this case, and we are satisfied the family were searched in accordance with our regulated security procedures.”