Unveiling the Dark Side of British Airports: Covert Collection of Biometrics Without Consent

Anyone travelling through an airport isn't just a traveller, a more suitable name would be VICTIM.

One of the strange things I noticed years ago, in several airports in various different airports around Europe, was that airports with more than one terminal, were being restructured so that all travellers were all herded into one specific area where you were surrounded by corporate shops. At the time, their explanation for these conversions was supposed to make things easier and more efficient for travellers, but the fact that the only place you could find out which number gate you needed to go to for your flight, was on a screen in this location, which wouldn't be displayed until the very last minute and in a lot of cases, too late and you would miss your flight and have to pay for another one at top price as it would be booking at short notice. The elderly and people with mobillity issues were the main victims of this stunt. I actually twisted my ankle running to the gate and missed my flight on one occassion. I think they've had to stop holding peoples gate number back because of the uproar from travellers, but the fact of the matter is that all this was done for the sole purpose of fleecing travellers out of as much money as possible and making corporations even richer. Further proof of this would be the conversion of Birmingham airport in the UK. All Ryanair flights flew from terminal 2, so before the conversion, 20 minutes before you had to be at the gate for boarding was plenty of time to start heading to go through security. You just had to go up an escalator, go around a corner to the left towards terminal 2, then go through security, turn left again and you were in terminal 2 in view of all the gates. After the conversion, for terminal 2, you would have to go up the escalator, then turn right and walk about halfway towards terminal 1 and join all the people walking up from terminal 1, then go through security. Once through secuirty, you had to turn right again away from terminal 2 as you were blocked by a partitioned wall with perspex windows and diverted directly through a shop calling itself "World Duty Free Shop" and out into a corporation shopping centre. As I was a frequent flyer at the time, I didn't need to hang around in this shopping centre waiting to find out which gate I needed to get to. I also knew that there was a duty free shop in terminal 2, so out of curiousty, while going through the World Duty Free shop, I looked at the price of 200 Benson & Hedges cigarettes and then I checked the price of them in the duty free shop in terminal 2 and found that they were £2 cheaper in terminal 2. This ordeal adds at least an extra 30 minute walk, plus a lot more time going through secuirity at busy times with all the passengers from both terminals being herded through the same secuirity point, for the sole purpose of ripping people off.

The Technology Behind Biometric Collection

The backbone of this issue lies in advanced technologies like body scanners and optical scanners, which have become commonplace in airports. These devices are intended to boost security but often serve a more hidden agenda: the covert gathering of travelers' biometric information.

Body scanners, for example, create detailed images of a person's body to identify potential threats. Similarly, optical scanners can collect retinal data in mere seconds. The UK Civil Aviation Authority reported that nearly 70% of British airports have implemented such technologies. However, many travelers remain in the dark about how much of their personal data is actually being recorded and stored.

A body scanner used for security checks in an airport

The lack of clarity surrounding these technologies raises pressing ethical concerns. Are passengers adequately informed about the data being collected? Can they choose to opt-out? The unfortunate reality is that in countless instances, the answer is no.

The Role of Corporations and Foreign Ownership

Adding to this complexity is the ownership structure of airports and the companies providing the technology. Many British airports are privately owned, with some belonging to foreign corporations. This raises crucial questions about who ultimately has access to the biometric data gathered at these facilities.

For instance, a significant number of biometric scanners in use are made by American firms. This means sensitive data could potentially be accessed by foreign governments, including the CIA and NSA. Alarmingly, a 2021 study revealed that 42% of UK travelers are unaware that their biometric data could end up in international government databases. Families, in particular, need to be aware of how their children's biometric information could be stored across the globe without their consent.

An airport terminal bustling with travelers and security personnel

These data collection practices go beyond mere privacy concerns. They also touch on national security, data protection, and the risk of misuse. As travelers, we should carefully consider the dangers surrounding our biometric information being stored and analyzed by entities that may not prioritize our well-being.

The Deception of Travelers

I was going through secuirity in Birmingham International Airport around the time Body Scanners were first being installed in them. I noticed they had a bloke in one of these scanners in one of the other secuirity lanes. There was a secuirity man standing beside it waiting for a green or red light to come on and the green light came on. The secuirity man then said " That's fine sir, you've got no metal in you". I immediately wondered why they made him get into it if he had no metal in him because at the time they claimed it was for people who set the metal detecters off with metal pins in their bodies, and I thought they just exposed him to radiation for nothing, as it looked like he'd been securely enclosed in what looked like some sort of radiology machine.

Then I was travelling again and because I was a frequent flyer, I used to be ready to walk straight through the metal detecters with no problems, but on this occassion my flight was delayed because of bad weather and then the time of arrival was suddenly brought forward and I had to start running. I was ordered to go through lane 4 secuirity checkpoint which was the one with the Body Scanner. The metal detecter went off as I went through and I immediately realised that in my haste, I forgot to take my belt off. The secuirity bloke immediately tried to get me into the Body Scanner, so I told him it was my belt buckle and I proceeded to take it off and go through the metal detecter again, but he was adamant that I had to get into it because I set the detecter off. I refused, so he said he couldn't let me through until I went through the scanner. I still refused and he called for a Superior and the Police. I tried to explain about the belt buckle and I just needed to go through the metal detecter without it and that I didn't want to be exposed to radiation unnessisary, but they were all adamant that I had to get into this scanner or they were going to check me off the flight. I still refused, so they took me back to the checkin counter and had me removed from flying. I asked for a refund which was denied also and their reason was that when I booked the ticket, I agreed to comply with airport secuirity regulations which I wasn't doing. I disputed that, and asked how was refusing to be exposed to radiation for nothing, not complying with your regulations, but they just claimed that I would of only been exposed to radio waves and escorted me out of the airport. I then went through the ordeal of making a complaint about it and eventually after getting fobbed off from one Goverment department to another, I got a response from Airport Authority, who claimed that I would of been exposed to electronic magnetic radiation and it was 100 times safer than a mobile phone. They also said that Birmingham Airport Secuirity were the ones responsible and that I should be complaining to them. I then booked another flight from Birmingham Airport which was for about a month after they stopped me flying before. I was ordered to go through secuirity with the Body Scanner again, and this time I made certain that I had no metal what so ever on me, but the metal detecter still went off anyway as I walked through. Secuirity insisted that I get into the scanner again, which I refused again. They asked why I wouldn't get in and again I said I didn't want to be exposed to radiation for no good reason. Again they insisted that I would only be exposed to radio waves, 100 times less than a mobile phone and tried to give me a leaflet as proof stating as much. I refused to even take it from them and told them that I was sick of listening to their lies and I don't want to be reading them as well. I also informed them that I'd been informed by Airport Authority that those scanners expose people to electronic magnetic radiation and not radio waves, to which their response was that all the other scanners in all the other airports around the country produce electronic magnetic radiation, but their one only produces radio waves. I then demanded to know why the hell was that metal detecter going off when I passed through when I had no metal on me. Reinforcements were called for again and one of the top people for airport secuirity arrived, Police with semi automatic weapons and CID from the West Midlands Police. They demanded my passport and things were getting fairly heated for a while until they realised their hostillity and intimidation wasn't working. One of the CID then offered to go into the scanner first and asked if I would go in then, which I refused. While we were talking, a young girl walked through the metal detecter wearing what looked like cowboy boots covered in metal studs and buckles and of coarse the metal detecter went off and she was told to get into the scanner and follow the instructions on the screen. I immediately was puzzled as to why secuirity allowed her through the metal detecter wearing those boots because usually security is always reminding people about what to remove before walking through the metal detecter, but for some strange reason they don't in the lane with body scanners. The child jumped into this scanner like it was a game, which I wasn't happy about. I watched her in this scanner which she was completely enclosed in and I noticed that she was facing this screen with her hands raised like someone was pointing a gun at her. Again I couldn't make out why she had to stand facing a computer screen with her hands raised in that manner just to detect metel pins in her body. The only explanation I can think of to get someone to stand in that sort of position in front of a computer would be to photograph them with photo recognition software, to take eye retinal scans and to take digital fingerprints etc. Not sure if it's still law, but in the UK, if British Police arrests someone suspected of committing a crime and then release them without charge, that person can then ask the Police to delete and destroy all data, information and even finger prints, plus watch them while they do it, but it seems laws don't apply to airports, they can collect whatever information they want from whoever, including peoples kids and without their knowledge. I was checked off the flight and escorted from the airport again.

Like most times when we try look into strange goings on, they just seem to keep getting more and more disturbing, this is another example. One of the other things Airport Authority said was that these scanners were passed as safe by some European Regulator. I then had to get a ferry to Ireland to try get a flight from Dublin Airport. There was a few of Ryanair staff outside having a smoke, so I asked them if they knew anything about these Body Scanners and I was shocked to hear them say that Dublin Airport had 1 or more and they said they had to get into them as well, then the airport was forced to remove them because they believed or thought they were causing people to get cancer. They then pointed out a member of secuirity, who was one of the main people operating them regularly. He confirmed what the Ryanair staff had told me and admitted that he didn't think that even the individuals operating them were being informed or knew exactly what those scanners were doing. He then told me that he was going on his honeymoon through Heathrow Airport a few weeks ago and even though he was in the job himself, both himself and his wife had their retnal scans taken with lazer beams that you can't even see.

So we've gone from Body Scanners being 100 times less harmful than a mobile phone to causing people to get cancer.

One of the most concerning aspects of biometric data collection is the misinformation that often accompanies it. Many travelers are led to believe that these measures exist solely for their safety. However, they are often unaware of the breadth and implications of the data being captured.

Airports and security staff may minimize the significance of biometric data, presenting it as a routine security protocol. This misleading portrayal can create a false sense of security for travelers who do not realize their personal information is being harvested without their agreement.

A security checkpoint where travelers pass through screening procedures

As a result, countless individuals may inadvertently allow their biometric data to be collected by merely walking through airport security. This raises essential questions about informed consent and the ethical ramifications of such practices.

The Impact on Families

For families traveling with children, the implications of biometric data collection are particularly alarming. The idea that children's biometric data could be collected and stored without their parents' knowledge poses a serious concern.

Parents need to be vigilant about the potential risks associated with biometric data collection as they traverse the complexities of air travel. A recent survey found that 55% of parents worry about their children's data privacy while traveling.

The thought that children's digital fingerprints and retinal scans might be stored in databases around the world without any oversight is sobering. It is vital for parents to understand these practices and advocate for heightened transparency and accountability from airport officials and security agencies.

A Call for Action

The covert collection of biometric data at airports is an urgent issue that requires immediate attention. Travelers must educate themselves about the technologies being deployed and their potential implications for privacy and safety.

The lack of clear communication about these practices, combined with the foreign ownership of many airports and technology providers, raises significant ethical questions. It is essential for individuals—especially families—to understand the risks tied to biometric data collection and to demand their rights be upheld.

As technology continues to advance, we must push for greater accountability and transparency at airports. Only by standing up for our privacy can we help ensure that our biometric data is not collected without our knowledge or consent. In a rapidly evolving world, it is crucial to remain informed about how these advancements impact our personal freedoms.

The thing most people are oblivious to, is the fact that this information and data can be used to track peoples every movement across the planet and what's even worse, it can even be used to acquire missile lock on a person. Most people have been brain washed and scare mongered into thinking and believing all this is to keep them safe from Terrorists. They also seem to think that because they're law abiding citizens, that this information couldn't possibly be used to do them or their kids any harm. I'm sure Edward Snowden and Julian Assange has a lot to say about that.

• Even though there is a specific whisle blower law in America supposed to protect Whisle Blowers, Edward Snowden had to flee America in fear of his life or being imprisoned for the rest of his life, for blowing the whistle on the NSA and various corporations illegally spying and gathering information on the entire American population.

• Julian Assange spent numerous years imprisoned in Britian, because he and Wikileaks exposed Governments, Politicians and Corporations of all sorts of crimes, from corruption to War Crimes, the main one being an American Apachie helicopter gunning down unarmed civilians, reporters and kids. Sweden, Britain and America spent years keeping him locked up while America tried to have him extradited to America, so they could lock him up for the rest of his life on charges of espionge or to kill him, like they had threatened to do.

• On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.^[4][5] Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives.^[6][7] His body was dismembered and disposed of in some way that was never publicly revealed.^[8] The consulate had been secretly bugged by the Turkish government and Khashoggi's final moments were captured in audio recordings, transcripts of which were subsequently made public. A spyware program called Pegasus is believed to have been installed on his phone and played a major role in this assination. This spyware was bought from an Israeli cyber-arms company called NSO Group.

• Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by Buzz, a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair. On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, it was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport due to alleged claims of a Hamas bombing attempt, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities. The aircraft was allowed to depart after seven hours, reaching Vilnius eight and a half hours behind schedule.

It's one thing if adults want to put their trust in these Governments and Corporations, but in my opinion, even parents don't have the right to allow these people have this sort of information or data about their kids because they can't possibly know if they're going to grow up and be a reporter, whistle blower or a politician that may not be liked or wanted by the powers that be.

I've personally have had my travel information used to cause me problems several times, like currently, I can fly out of every country except Britain, because apparently I pose a threat to passenger safety by not getting into a Body Scanner. I can even fly into British airports without any problems or passengers being harmed. This is just one example of the problems I have to endure travelling.

I'm constantly having to endure torture and assassination attempts with information obtained from my medical records and notes. The less information these sort of people have about us, the safer we are and not the other way around.