Maltese EU official denounces airport body scanning as ‘horrible, diminishing experience’

Malta's vice president to the European Economic and Social Committee Anna Maria Darmanin has denounced the use of body scanners at European airports, claiming the experience to be "horrible", and that it strips the citizen of their freedom of choice.

Interviewed on Euronews's European Affairs programme which focused on fundamental human rights, Darmanin said that her experience while going through an airport body scanner was  more than a horrible one.

"First thing, I didn't even know I was going through a body scanner. I was just sent through this glass thing. And when I was in it, actually I realised I was in a body scanner. And when I went out of it I complained because I said I have the right of choice, and I was told 'you either go through this or you don't fly," she said.

Darmanin added that the experience was humiliating, "because I felt my own dignity was trespassed, my own rights, just because I wanted to fly, were really diminished. And for me, actually sacrificing one's rights should not be done for security."

Airport body scanners are virtual strip searches which were introduced in Europe soon after a young man attempted to blow up a plane flying from Amsterdam to the United States in 2009. Explosives had been hidden inside his underwear.

Some scanner images found on the internet and in the media give the impression the naked form is not that detailed or graphic. But other images show that more is being revealed than some might expect.

Brussels brought in new regulations, citing provisions of the charter of fundamental rights.

Passengers were given the right to refuse to be scanned and choose an alternative screening method. However, discussions are ongoing over the fact the UK is not applying this part of the rules.

The new law also says that images cannot be stored and the security officer analysing them must be in a separate room from where the scanner is.

And, because of health concerns, only non-X-ray body scanners can be used at EU airports.

In response to the privacy concerns, some airports have opted for new technology: generic stick figures have replaced the nude-like images.

But one of the groups that first spoke out on the issue believes there is still a lot more that needs to be done to satisfy passengers.

Nickle Pickles, the director of Big Brother Watch, told Euronews that "it's one thing to satisfy lawyers and regulators, but it's very different when we hear stories of people being forced to take infant children, for example, through body scanners with them; and also concerns around men looking at images of women being scanned. So there are still questions to be asked," he said.

Pickles added his belief that "the debate has certainly moved on now to be: how can we make this technology acceptable on a privacy level, and not just to move beyond the privacy issue? Because unfortunately, sometimes, when security's concerned, it is used as a trump to all the other issues."

Claudia Fusco from the directorate-general for mobility and transport at the European Commission said that "this is really one example where fundamental rights were taken into account from the beginning in the impact assessment which has accompanied the proposal, where the commission has put on the table some options, policy options, what we could do best in terms of security on one side and the fundamental rights.

"And of course the interest of the commission is to put the things together and to show both. And the final policy option, which is what we have in the legislation currently, is the best option which was possible."

When contacted about the issue, a spokesman for Malta International Airport explained that scanners are not used locally.

"There are no body scanners in use at Malta Airport. The EU's position on the introduction of body scanner technology at airports is that these may be used. This means that it is at the discretion of the national authorities around Europe to decide whether to have them as part of their passenger screening process. In Malta, this matter is regulated by the Ministry for Home Affairs. Considering that the current security standards for passenger screening adopted at Malta Airport meet international and regional requirements - which standards are in place in all EU airports - the Company is not considering the introduction of body scanning technology at this stage." 

The EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights officially became legally binding when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force in December 2009. The charter is divided up into six different categories: dignity, justice, freedoms, solidarity, citizens' rights and equality."

But there is concern that people do not really understand why and how the charter is useful.

For example, they need to know that it is only legally binding on EU countries when they are implementing European Union law.

The European Commission is promising an annual progress report on application of the charter, with a new one to be released soon.