Airport to trial full-body scanner

A FULL-BODY scanner is to be used on staff at Dublin Airport under plans to test the controversial security equipment.

Airport chiefs expect to use the walk-through device on a trial period for up to 18 months from September before potentially introducing them to passengers.

A Dublin Airport Authority spokeswoman said airline staff and other workers will be invited to use it, but it will not be compulsory.

The European Parliament last month agreed body scanners should be allowed at EU airports only if the health, dignity and privacy of passengers are protected.

The parliament said the images produced by the devices should be “stick figures” and not full-body images. It also said all data must be destroyed after the person passes through it.

The scanner will initially be based in Terminal 1 and the spokeswoman stressedno body images will be displayed amid privacy fears.

Concerns have been expressed about the potential health dangers of airport scanners. The European Parliament ruled scanners using ionising radiation should be prohibited in the EU.

A DAA spokesman said the scanner in Dublin will use millimetre wave technology, which he claimed does not pose a health risk.

“The signal style strength is a fraction of the strength of a mobile phone signal,” the spokesman said.

“Once this trial period is completed we will have a full evaluation of it to see if it will improve the passenger experience and on that basis we will then make a decision on whether or not we will roll out the technology in the future.”

The DAA said that if the trial is successful and the scanners are introduced, passengers will not be compelled to use them.

The Department of Transport said it has not yet received any formal application for approval to begin the trial.