Criticism for new body scanner at Manchester airport

Officials at Manchester Airport have defended its controversial new scanner which produces naked images of passengers, saying it will speed up security. The airport’s head of customer service Sarah Barrett added that passengers would find the scanner preferable to a traditional body search.

The scanner, which was introduced this week, will show up breast enlargements, body piercings and show outlines of passengers’ genitals. The introduction of the machine, which cost £80,000, means that passengers will not have to go through the rigmarole of removing their coats, shoes or belts.

A spokesman stated that most passengers do not like the ‘pat down’ service, and that the scanner completely takes away the need for passengers to remove items of clothing.
She added that the images would be seen by one officer in a remote location, were not pornographic and could not be stored or captured. Passengers do have the right to refuse to be scanned by the new machine, at Manchester’s Terminal 2.

The Department of Transport will monitor the scheme for a year before deciding whether to install similar scanners on a permanent basis. The scanners are being initiated at Heathrow initially and are gradually being rolled out across the USA.

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