The new security measures are designed to combat criminals and illegal immigrants who, according to the airport's management, will not be able to travel under such checks at airports. According to the operator BAA, without such checks, these criminal elements can enter the country using a boarding pass purchased by another passenger. After that, criminals can easily fly to any British airport without going through passport control.
In response to accusations of collecting confidential information, the authors of the innovation emphasize that passengers' fingerprints are planned to be stored in the airport's database for no longer than 24 hours and will not be shared with the police or any other third-party organizations.
Fingerprints will soon have to be provided at Gatwick Airport (the second largest airport in the UK) as well. According to The Telegraph, it is possible that similar security measures will be introduced at all airports in the country in the future.