31 Dec 2009

Body scanners to be introduced at Schiphol

4:39 pm on 31 December 2009

Officials in the Netherlands have announced that microwave body scanners are to be introduced to enhance security at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

The Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up an American-bound jet on Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, passed through Schiphol on his way to the United States.

Dutch Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst says the scanners will be used on passengers travelling to the United States within three weeks.

And the head of Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority says Nigeria will acquire full body scanners next year and start using them at all of its international airports.

Abdulmutallab started his journey in Lagos in Nigeria. He passed through airport security without raising concerns as he had a valid Nigerian passport and a valid US visa.

He was charged on arrival in the US with attempting to destroy a plane.

Passengers tackled him in his seat about 20 minutes before landing in Detroit as he tried to detonate explosives in his underwear. Initial investigations found he was carrying the explosive PETN and a syringe filled with liquid.