Travellers in favour of airport scanners, survey shows

08/03/2010

By Nick Jones.

A large proportion of UK travellers support the introduction of full body scanners at airports such as Heathrow, despite concerns over human rights and privacy, it has been stated.

According to a survey of 1,000 individuals carried out by HolidayExtras, 43 per cent of its customers believe the importance of security when flying outweighs concerns, while 15 per cent said they supported the scanners if they could not see the operator and the images were destroyed immediately afterwards.

A quarter of women and almost half (44 per cent) of men said they had no problem with the technology.

Just five per cent of men and seven per cent of women said they might feel uncomfortable about full body scans at airports such as Manchester and Heathrow, while one per cent said they would consider refusing the scans, even if this meant not being permitted to fly.

In related news, two women became the first to be barred from flying after they refused to take part in the scans last week, citing religious and medical reasons.