Security management Toolkit

Manchester Airport launches staff biometrics

Kable

Published: 23 Jan 2008 12:55 GMT

One of the UK's largest airports has introduced iris scanning to ensure the accurate identification of staff.

The Department for Transport's security team, Manchester Airport and biometric identity-management consultancy Human Recognition Systems (HRS) have launched the first iris-recognition access-control system at a UK airport.

The system is able to control the movement of Manchester Airport's 25,000 staff. It incorporates single-person access-control portals combined with iris-recognition cameras, controlling the access of staff to restricted zones.

HRS has been working on a number of security projects with Transec, the Department for Transport's team for ensuring the security of the travelling public and people employed in the transport sector, and Manchester Airport for five years.

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Trials of iris scanning began four years ago. HRS claimed the solution improves on the manual-checking procedures previously used at Manchester.

Mike Fazackerley, director of security and customer service at Manchester Airport, said: "The biometric access-control project is the next step in the journey for both HRS and the airport in enabling us to continue to provide a safe, secure and convenient airport environment for staff."

HRS's chief executive, Neil Norman, added: "In particular this partnership shows how biometric systems, in this case a 25,000-user iris-recognition system, can really be implemented, resulting in significant and tangible benefits to a large-scale business."