Heathrow Body Scanners

by Rajdeep Sandhu (15 Jan 2010)

After the recent failed terrorists attacks Heathrow airport will introduce new measures to tighten security. Body scanners will be installed "as soon as is practical" at the airport. It comes after two failed attacks on board flights.
 

The first attack was on Christmas day when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on board a flight to Detroit. The second threat was at Heathrow airport when three men boarded a plane to Dubai, and made remarks which alerted the cabin crew. They were taken off the plane by armed police and arrested, for allegedly making bomb threats.
 

A passenger on board the flight said: "Police with automatic weapons just swarmed the guy and rushed him out. They brought on a dog and held it up to sniff around in the overhead compartments."
 

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Heathrow to W1: £34 Heathrow to SW1: £38 Heathrow to EC1: £37 Heathrow to Oxford: £66

Heathrow to Reading: £45 Heathrow to Chelmsford: £97 Heathrow to Birmingham: £163

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With all major airports in a state of heightened security, Heathrow will be one of the first to install the £100,000 body scanners in the UK. However experts are worried that the scanners may not be able to detect the type of explosives that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was carrying, exposing the airport and its passenger to potential danger.
 

Staff at Heathrow are also receiving training to spot potential suicide bombers through body language. The new scheme called the Behavioural Analysis Screening System will coincide with the police already patrolling at transport hubs. The details of the training are being kept secret but it is based on an Israeli system, designed to spot the tell tale signs of a suicide bomber.