Travelinfo.ca: GERMANY has backed down on plans to install full-body scanners at airports after testing showed technology to be inaccurate at times. Sources said nearly half of those scanned were incorrectly flagged during a 10-month testing phase. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Wednesday that two trial machines installed at Hamburg airport returned too many false readings in which passengers were incorrectly identified as carrying suspicious objects. Friedrich said the technology used in the scanners had to be made more efficient and effective before Germany would consider adopting the machines in its more than 50 airports. He added, however, that he still felt full-body scanners had the potential to make airport security checks considerably faster and smoother, though stopped short of speculating on when the technology would be ready for application. Airport body scanners have long been in use in the United States, whilst European governments have held off on the technology.
