Dan Milmo, correspondiente del transporte
Jueves 7 de junio de 2007
El guarda

Millones de británico que salen de los aeropuertos de Estados Unidos hacen frente a huella dactilar obligatoria debajo de pautas nuevas de la seguridad. Los pasajeros que viajan de los E.E.U.U. tendrán que presentar sus dedos así como sus pasaportes en los registros del final del año próximo, según un funcionario de la seguridad mayor. La Virgen Atlántico, que clientes pueden ser forzados aguantar esperas más largas en terminales, ha hecho voto a oponer el movimiento.

Michael Jackson, secretaria del diputado del departamento de los E.E.U.U. de la seguridad de la patria, dijo que el procedimiento se aplicaría a todos los pasajeros y líneas aéreas que vuelan de los E.E.U.U. como el país acumula la información sobre cada nacional extranjero que viaja a través de América. “Necesitaremos biométrico así como datos biográficos,” él dijo.

Under current regulations, EU airlines flying to the US have to supply passenger name records (PNR).

The arrangement is a source of tension, amid anger that American authorities are also seeking access to credit card details and email accounts. European flights have also been forced to turn around mid-air after US authorities barred certain passengers from entering the country, including Yusuf Islam, formerly known as the singer Cat Stevens. Mr Jackson said fingerprinting every passenger would not lead to long queues, even though airlines would have to do the job, and the procedure would be easy to integrate, over time, “into the business model of the industry”.

He said his department was willing to supply the electronic fingerprinting kit to airlines in the initial phase. Speaking at the International Air Transport Association conference in Vancouver, he said some larger airlines would be able to adapt existing check-in kiosks to scan passengers’ index fingers. “We don’t think phase one will be burdensome.”

He said the US would not demand a similar procedure for flights travelling from the UK to the US.

Airlines warned that the process would test passengers’ patience, already stretched by tight security guidelines in US and UK airports. Virgin Atlantic warned that mandatory fingerprinting “does not make sense” and it is lobbying against the proposal. “There is a real danger that it could create longer queues,” said Paul Charles, director of communications at Virgin. “Our check-in staff are not security or immigration officials and that’s not their role.”

Mr Jackson added that the most “catastrophic” threat to the airline industry was a rocket-propelled grenade attack similar to the one that nearly downed an Israeli airliner in Kenya five years ago. He said another attack on the scale of September 11 2001 was inevitable. “It is not clear whether it could be in aviation … but it would be silly not to understand that we will have many more September 11s. It is a long-term struggle.”

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