Paris:
France on Monday started using a full-body security scanner for US-bound passengers at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.
The decision to try out the scanner for three months was prompted by security concerns after a man allegedly tried to ignite explosives hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound flight on 25 December last year.
The scanner helps detect forbidden objects hidden under clothes.
Reactions varied among passengers who volunteered for the scan after the machine was installed. While some said the scan was practical and fast, others worried about potential harmful effects.
But the director of France's civil aviation authority, Patrick Gandil, said there was no danger in using the scanner. "The milimetric waves are waves which reflect on the skin. There is no penetration inside the human body. That is why there is no danger," he said.
When the plans for the scanner test at Charles de Gaulle were announced in January, officials said they hoped to eventually deploy six or seven scanners. How fast they could be put in use depended on how quickly France could get hold of them, they added.
Demand for the scanners has increased as more countries try to acquire them. In the long run, civil aviation authorities intend to put body scanners in all French airports. Each scanner can cost up to 204-thousand US dollars. Extra costs will include salaries for personnel who operate the scanners.