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Airport rolls out biometric security
LONDON, England (CNN) -- London City Airport has become one of the first in Europe to establish biometric security access for its 1,600 employees. Initially the system will only be used for staff, although "it could easily be rolled out to include all passengers," Jenny Lloyd of London City Airport told CNN. The system, designed by identity management company Daon, uses fingerprint recognition and a photo ID card to identify a unique data pattern for each scan. Actual fingerprints are not stored to preserve privacy. "It will make this airport one of the most secure in Europe," Oliver Tattan, Chief Executive Officer of Daon said in a statement. "This is a first of its kind with a biometric infrastructure in place that includes all staff across all security areas," he said. Scanners now control access to all areas of the airport. Those entering restricted zones pass a smart ID over an electronic reader and then have their biometric finger template checked to confirm their identity. Richard Gooding, Managing Director for London City Airport said: "Since the tragic events of September 11, the safety and security of the world's civil aviation system has taken on a greater urgency." In future the system, which tries to reduce the scope for human error, could be expanded to encompass other forms of identification, including iris or voice recognition. More work neededCritics say biometric testing is unlikely to be effective unless a fully-integrated system is implemented by airports and governments both in Europe and the U.S.. "Biometrics have been used as just a single point system, but that's useless, it's like putting a door in the middle of a plain, people just walk round it," Tatton told Computing magazine. The weak global economy is also taking its toll on the roll out of biometric initiatives. Many businesses and government agencies are postponing orders for new security systems or even updating existing ones. At a meeting in mid-June, the European Union's top privacy watchdog will tackle the issue of biometric screening, such as face recognition and finger printing. This is a procedure the United States is considering applying to travellers entering its borders to weed out terrorists. Earlier this month G8 states -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia -- agreed to develop a new high-tech passport to help the fight against terrorism. However, Britain warned against rushing to meet a U.S. deadline of October 2004. The identity documents could include fingerprints and details of the bearer's iris, as well as a photograph.
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