Airport News

London Luton and Belfast City are among the nine airports in the UK, which are to use full-body scanners to screen passengers.

The government announced yesterday the plans to introduce the scanners to further improve security at the airports.

Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow Prestwick will also now use them while the two trials at London Stansted and Aberdeen will be made permanent.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the decision, when he also lifted the flying ban on travellers who refuse to use the new screening devices, from today.

Passengers who refused to go through the controversial scanners will not be banned from flying, as long as they agree to undergo an alternative private hand-search they do not have to use the full-body scanners.

The other airports already using the equipment are Belfast International, Birmingham, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, Glasgow, London Heathrow, London City and Manchester.

McLoughlin says the new generation of full-body scanners ware based on radio-wave or millimetre wave technology, which carry no known health risks to passengers.

"All security scanners deployed now use automatic threat recognition software which means that no image of a passenger is produced, thus alleviating any residual health or privacy concerns," McLoughin, says in a written ministerial statement.