A British Airways airplane comes in to land at Heathrow Airport in west London
A British Israeli traveller is to sue airport operator BAA for racial discrimination. REUTERS

Heathrow airport operator BAA is to be sued for alleged racial discrimination and negligence by a Jewish passenger who claims who claims Muslim staff picked him out three times in a row for a "random" full-body security search, according to a report in London's Evening Standard.

Arieh Zucker, 41, claims he was racially discriminated against by airport security officials at Terminal 5 who "humiliated" him.

Zucker who holds dual British and Israeli citizenship and wears a skull cap, asserts he was singled out because of his religion.

In a legal letter sent to the company, he claims the full-body search during the incident in September was carried out "with aggression".

Earlier incidents also occurred in March and June, Zucker said.

A BAA spokesperson said they are always "disappointed" to learn of any passengers who believe they have had a poor experience when travelling through their airport.

"We encourage our staff to be polite and courteous, especially when using new and complex screening technology."