British Airports Authority (BAA) has introduced a new fingerprinting procedure at London’s Heathrow Terminal 1. It applies to all customers transferring onto any UK domestic flight and allows international and UK domestic customers to use a common airport lounge, with superior retail, leisure and dining facilities.

Without such measures there would be the possibility that an international traveller could arrange to swap their flight tickets with a domestic traveller and fly onwards to a destination as an internal passenger – so allowing them to bypass international entry checks.

In the transfer area, all customers connecting onto a UK domestic flight will be directed to follow the international route. At the entrance to the departure lounge these customers will be asked to provide their biometric information, which will consist of the reading of four fingerprints and the taking of a photo.

The customers then proceed to the main terminal departure lounge where they can take advantage of most of the retail, leisure and restaurant facilities usually reserved only for those travelling internationally.

As the customers proceed to board their flight in the domestic area, they will be asked to verify their biometrics at the point of entry. After this point, only domestic customers will be mixing together. Verification requires the passengers to present their boarding card and represent their fingers to allow the guard to ensure that it is the same customers presented at biometric capture.

If a passenger refuses to have their biometric captured, they will be required to land themselves through the international channel, proceed through Terminal 1 up to the departures level where they will rejoin the departures process as a direct departing customer. From here they will proceed to the domestic departure lounge.

The system will be rolled out between 1 February and 26 March 2008 and affects all airlines with UK domestic departures.

Customers starting their domestic journey at London Heathrow Terminal 1 will continue to proceed through the usual route.