Ellen Terrell, who was travelling with her husband, was told she’d been selected for random screening, and was asked to enter a full body scanner.
She was then scanned three times, after Transport Security Administration officials claimed that they couldn’t get a proper picture, before a female staff member told her she had a “cute figure”.
Mrs Terrell believes she was targeted for the benefit of male employees viewing the pictures in a separate office, after she heard an official say: “Guys it’s not blurry, I’m letting her go.”
A spokesperson for America’s much criticised airport security body, the TSA, told the MailOnline: “The new images are very generic and really focus on the privacy of the passenger. They see the same image as the staff.”
Passengers selected for screening may decline a body scan as long as they submit to a physical pat-down, although Mrs Terrell wasn’t aware of this option.
The TSA has been derided for searching children and families and even forced a disabled former Playboy model to undergo a strip search, because her wheelchair set off metal detectors.
Hear what Mrs Terrell believes happened to her below.
Image via Getty