www.uniindia.com

Biometric scans to speed up airport checks unveiled at London Heathrow

LONDON, Dec 6, 2006 (UNI) 

A system which allows air passengers to sign up for biometric scanning to speed up their journeys is being unveiled at London’s Heathrow Airport Wednesday, officials said.

Under the system, passengers provide their fingerprints or an iris scan to prove their identity before boarding.

This allows them to be fast-tracked through airport checks, avoiding often lengthy queues.

Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said such technology would be ‘‘crucial’’ in helping Britain to secure its borders ‘‘in a more mobile age.’’

The system is being piloted at the airport’s terminal 3 and passengers on some Cathay Pacific and Emirates flights will initially be invited to join the trial.

But in the second phase, all European nationals flying from terminal 3 will be allowed to join the programme if they hold a passport valid for at least six months, are aged over 18 and can pass background checks.

‘‘You will still have to go through security...but what this does is paves the way to fast-tracking you through that process rather than having to show pieces of paper,’’ Steve Challis, head of product development for BAA, the company which runs Britain’s airports, told BBC radio.