Heathrow begins biometric security trial

Passengers heading through Terminal 1 at Heathrow Airport have started taking part in a biometric security trial.

The tests, conducted on those transferring between domestic flights at the terminal, see flyers providing a photograph and fingerprints, which are then checked against the passenger at boarding, Bloomberg reports.

BAA said it is carrying out the trial to make sure the scheme works properly before Terminal 5, which will be the new home of British Airways, opens next month.

The checks will also help the airport to ensure that international flyers are unable to get on domestic flights, spokesman Damon Hunt commented.

"We need a way of being able to ensure that an international passenger doesn't get on a domestic flight by swapping boarding passes with a domestic passenger," he stated.

"This will let us have a single common departure lounge."

Meanwhile, business executives in Scotland have given the new terminal their approval. In a statement released today, David Ross of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said the new facility could potentially make flights from the Scottish city with British Airways more efficient.

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