Airport ditches controversial bodyscanners (Daily Telegraph — 17 September 2012)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9547965/Airport-ditches-controversial-bodyscanners.html
A total of 13 backscatter X‑ray machines are being ditched because they have not been given EU approval, even though they are in common use in the United States.
Manchester Airport announced that it will remove all 13 of its backscatter X‑ray body scanners devices that create detailed images of passengers’ bodies under clothing after the European Union declined to grant permanent approval for their ongoing use.
The airport had been using the controversial scanners under a trial period, but Brussels’ failure to approve them meant the technology could no longer be deployed once that trial ended.
Although the scanners are widely used in the United States (where airports have deployed similar machines to screen millions of travellers), the EU requirement for formal approval was not met in time.
Manchester Airport said it would instead introduce “privacy‑friendly” alternatives, replacing the backscatter units with newer systems (such as millimetre‑wave scanners) that produce less detailed, more abstract images of passengers and are authorised under EU rules.
They failed to secure the necessary European regulatory sign‑off, the machines were scheduled for removal. Airport officials expressed frustration.
Critics of the backscatter technology had long raised concerns over privacy (from the full‑body images) and over radiation exposure.
Also read: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/airport-to-ditch-naked-scanners/28864108.html