CALGARY—The Calgary Airport Authority wants answers after an 82-year-old woman complained of a nightmarish security check at the Calgary International Airport.

Elizabeth Strecker, who lost a breast to cancer, said she was asked by security last week if she was carrying any banned liquids, but didn’t think she had to reveal she’d had a mastectomy.

When an airport scanner detected her prosthesis, she said security staff felt she’d misled them and they subjected her to a patdown where she was touched “everywhere.”

Strecker said the worst part was being accused of lying to security.

She called the experience humiliating and said she plans to seek an apology.

Jody Moseley, director of communications with the Calgary Airport Authority, said the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority will investigate.

“We are deeply concerned about the experience,” she said, adding that the airport authority has asked the security authority for a full report as soon as possible.

“At all times we expect our passengers (to be) treated with dignity and respect.”

Federal Transport Minister Chuck Strahl stressed that airport security has a legal obligation to treat travellers with respect and said Strecker’s story sounded completely unacceptable.

Moseley said security checks can be a daunting experience for people who don’t travel often and are unfamiliar with them.

“The process should not supersede the respect issue of the passengers,” she added. “They should take that into account and ensure that experience isn’t negative. It’s not what the security process is supposed to be.”

Moseley said while security issues don’t fall under the purview of the Calgary Airport Authority, the body takes complaints seriously.

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“We’re very concerned and very apologetic that she had that experience,” she told The Canadian Press on Friday. “But we are insisting that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority address this issue.

“We work with our partners to make sure that experience is positive . . . which is why we said to them we want to hear back about what you’ve investigated and what your response is to this allegation.”