MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Naked” images scanner pilot test at Manchester airport

Images are not “erotic” and passengers can refuse to be scanned

A trial of a scanner that produces “naked” images of passengers has begun at Manchester Airport, Britain. The authorities say it will speed up security checks by quickly revealing any concealed weapons or explosives.

But the full body scans will also show up breast enlargements, body piercings and a clear black-and-white outline of passengers' genitals.

The airport has stressed that the images are not pornographic and will be destroyed straight away.

Sarah Barrett, head of customer experience at the airport, said most passengers did not like the traditional “pat down” search.

At Manchester Airport's Terminal 2, where the machine has been introduced, passengers will no longer have to remove their coats, shoes and belts as they go through security checks.

Ms Barrett said: “This scanner completely takes away the hassle of needing to undress.”

Ms Barrett said the black-and-white image would only be seen by one officer in a remote location before it was deleted.

“The images are not erotic or pornographic and they cannot be stored or captured in any way,” she said. Passengers could refuse to be scanned, she added.

The scanners cost £80,000 each. They work by beaming electromagnetic waves on to passengers while they stand in a booth. A virtual three-dimensional image is then created from the reflected energy.

Ms Barrett said the radiation levels were “super safe”.

She said: “Passengers can go through this machine 5,000 times a year each without worrying. The amount of radiation transmitted is tiny.”

The Department for Transport will decide whether to install them permanently in about a year's time.

The scanners, made by RapiScan Systems from California, have already been tried at Heathrow Airport from 2004 to 2008.

A BAA Heathrow spokeswoman said the technology had been “very effective” and the airport operator was considering possible wider use of it in the future.

The scanners are being gradually rolled out at airports across the US, after use in Los Angeles and New York.