Manchester Airport increases security

Wednesday 3 September 2008

Airline & Airport Updates

Manchester Airport has beefed up its security with a new car surveillance system.

Some 500,000 vehicle number plates will be automatically recorded to help airport authorities decide which vehicles to investigate.

However, Superintendent Peter Turner explained that the new measures were not in response to any particular increased threat to passengers on any of the airport's routes.

He told the BBC: "It will record every vehicle which enters or leaves the airport and allows us to track people we would like to intercept."

Number plates will be automatically recorded by the surveillance system and will then be checked against police databases for any relevant information.

Manchester Airport is also trialling new facial recognition technology that authorities hope will improve security at the airport.

If successful, the government's new e-Borders system will be implemented at other major UK airports in the future.

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