London, Sep 18 (IANS) An airport in Manchester, which was the only one in Britain to be using X-ray security scanners that reveal “nude” images of passengers, has been asked by the European Union (EU) to stop using them.
The gizmos sparked fears that travellers might be ogled by staff after Manchester airport installed them in 2009, The Sun reported.
A three-year trial of the devices — that use low-dose X-rays to see through clothes — ends next month.
The report said airport officials had expected to get the nod to keep using them after EU experts said the machines were safe. However, the technology was outlawed instead.
The airport would now hire 55 staff to frisk passengers. It would spend around one million pounds on new scanners that use radio waves.
“The overwhelming majority of our passengers prefer body scanners to frisking. It’s frustrating the EU has allowed this successful trial to end,” an airport spokesman was quoted as saying.
