AIRPORT security. Many of us know how painful it can be, but a fed-up South African Airways pilot took things a step too far when he decided to act out against the strict screening procedures, the NewZimbabwe.com reported.

Captain W Van Ginkel reportedly lost his cool in front of other crew and passengers at Harare International Airport, Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

The pilot was on his way to board flight SA 025, bound for Johannesburg, when the metal detector beeped as he walked through it. So he was asked to remove his shoes and try again, but it still beeped.

Next to come off was his belt, but alas, it kept beeping, much to his frustration.

He was frisked, and then decided to take it all off (besides his underwear) for his next attempt!

Officials weren’t amused, and he was arrested and fined for “criminal nuisance”.

His act of defiance ended up sparking a five-hour delay for passengers on-board, as the airline had to find another pilot from Johannesburg to pilot the plane.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali apologised over the incident: “We regret the incident and we would like to apologise to our passengers and our stakeholders at large. This is a matter which the airline will investigate in order to fully understand the circumstances that led to the detention of our crew member.

“Once we have all the information, we will decide on what course of action to take.”

news.com.au has contact the airline for further comment.