Two Muslim women who refused full body scan not allowed to fly

TWO Muslim women were stopped from boarding a flight when they refused to go through a full body scanner, it was revealed yesterday.

In what is the first case of passengers being barred from a flight after refusing a full-body scan, one of the women refused for religious reasons while another said she had a medical excuse.

The passengers were at Manchester airport for a flight to Islamabad when they were selected at random to pass through the controversial security screen.

The first woman was warned she would not be allowed to board the Pakistan International Airlines flight if she did not comply with the request, but opted to forfeit her ticket.

Her female travelling companion also left the airport after she cited "medical reasons" for not wanting to go through the scanner.

More than 15,000 people have already passed through the 80,000 Rapiscan machine at the airport's Terminal 2. The government introduced the scanner at Heathrow and Manchester airports last month.

Security staff use the X-ray machine to check for any concealed weapons or explosives but it has attracted criticism for also showing clear outlines of passengers' genitals. Civil liberties campaigners have criticised the scanners as an invasion of privacy.

Sources at Manchester airport said the flight to Pakistan about two weeks ago was busy and that no other passengers objected when chosen to go through the full body scanner after check-in.