Airport fingerprint plan challenged

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The Information Commissioner's Office has warned airport operator BAA that the security measure may breach the Data Protection Act.

BAA confirmed that it was in negotiations with the Commissioner over the fingerprinting of passengers, but insisted that there was no prospect of the row delaying Thursday's scheduled operational opening of Terminal 5.

The fingerprinting plan will affect all domestic passengers using the £4.3 billion terminal, officially opened by the Queen earlier this month, as well as international passengers transferring onto internal flights.

The move will allow domestic and international passengers to mingle in the shops, cafes and bars in Terminal 5's vast departure lounge.

Prints will be taken when passengers first go through security, and then checked at the gate, ensuring that the individual boarding the plane is the same person who first checked in.

Without a security measure of this type, it might be possible for a terrorist to arrive at Heathrow on a transit flight, then exchange boarding passes with a colleague in the departure lounge and join a domestic flight to enter the UK without being checked by immigration authorities.

The Home Office said that BAA was required to ensure that arrangements at Terminal 5 did not breach border security, but that there was no requirement for this to involve fingerprinting.