Manchester Airport to replace ‘naked’ scanners
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Manchester Airport has announced it will end its trial of ‘naked’ security scanners and replace them with new ‘privacy friendly’ ones next month.
Its current scanners will be replaced by new ones from 1 October which use radio frequency and not x-rays to scan passengers. The x-ray body scanners fall out of EU legislation despite passing test with health experts in May.
Its new radio frequency machines will be trialed for three months with bosses keen to buy more if the five are a success.
“We’re baffled by this situation because health experts say they are safe plus the overwhelming majority of our passengers and security staff prefer body scanners to frisking and it’s frustrating that Brussels has allowed this successful trial to end”, said Andrew Harrison, chief operating officer at M.A.G, Manchester Airport’s parent company.
“Our security surveys and those run by the Department for Transport show passengers regularly rate their experience at Manchester as one of the best security processes in the UK if not Europe. There’s no doubt that body scanners play a big part in these results. That’s why we are once again investing in new next generation scanner technology where the human examination of images is automated,” he added.
