Manchester Airport Tries Out Naked Scanners

It now seems that new human X-ray machines, which are able to produce a “naked” image of the passengers that pass by it, are being trialled at Manchester Airport. The scanners are able to easily spot any kind of hidden weapons or explosives that could be hidden under clothing on the body. Other things that show up on the images are breast inserts, piercings, false limbs, and a very clear outline of the passengers genitals.

Right now passengers are able to refuse to undergo the X-ray “strip search”, which is set up at Terminal 2 in Manchester Airport. The people that refuse to go for the virtual strip search opt for a conventional human pat down search instead. Of course, Manchester Airport is very quick to point out that these images are in no way pornographic. On top of this, they stress that the pictures will be destroyed right away.

The head of customer experiences at the airport, Sarah Barrett, said that most passengers did not like the traditional pat down search. This went double for women who said they felt violated when being patted down. The benefits for this new scanner will be that passengers no longer have to remove coats, shoes, and belts to go through security checks. Thus, the scanner is able to take the hassle out of going through security.

However, it is going to be left up to the UK’s Department of Transport on whether the rest of the airports will get them installed or not. This decision will come in about a year’s time.