The Airport operator BAA has delayed the use of fingerprinting system for passengers to conform to privacy protection measures.
The UK Airport operator BAA planned to take four biometric fingerprint records and a digital photograph of every passenger who passes through the terminal. But the Information Commissioner and the Border and Immigration Agency decided otherwise. The day of the inauguration of the Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, BAA announced the introduction of fingerprinting for domestic passengers and international passengers transferring on to domestic flights at Heathrow will be temporarily delayed. The Information Commissioner’s Office had expressed concern that the move may breach data protection laws. BAA said all data will be encrypted immediately and destroyed within 24 hours, after the passenger has passed through the system. A similar system already operates in most international airports in the US.
