PUTRAJAYA: Passengers at the KL International Airport may have their iris and thumbprints scanned in future to check their identities in a move to tighten airport security.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said Malaysia Airports Berhad was seriously looking into implementing the use of the biometrics technology to prevent criminals or terrorists from entering the country.

“The technology will be used to scan the passenger’s biometrics. Once they are scanned, their data is registered and one can then vet them.

“Once the person is not a security risk, he can later move in and out very fast and more time can be spent monitoring those who have not been vetted,’’ he said.

Dr Ling said biometrics was the most modern security method in which the iris or thumbprints are scanned to identify, store and verify the person’s identity.

“No two persons have the same iris or thumbprint. There are a lot of instruments available today which allow us to scan the person through their biometrics. There are a lot of merits in this system,’’ he said.

The International Air Transport Agency (Iata), he said, was pushing for the implementation of the technology at airports worldwide, especially large ones where it is difficult to monitor each passenger.

“In smaller airports it is easy to manage security because there are fewer people. The Iata is coming up with a proposal for the use of biometrics technology,’’ he said after presenting excellent service awards to 16 staff of the ministry yesterday.

Dr Ling also said that high-technology was now avail- able for biometrics inclu- ding those developed by firms in Malaysia which would speed up the scanning process at airports.

“Airports may not have started using this technology but a lot of high-risk companies and high-security firms are already using it,’’ he said.

On the cost, Dr Ling said large airports would be able to absorb the cost of implementing the system while smaller ones may not find it cost-effective.

Earlier, Dr Ling received a courtesy call from Republic of Yemen Consultative Council president Abdulaziz Abdulghani who is on a four-day visit to Malaysia as a guest of Senate president Datuk Michael Chen. Abdulaziz is accompanied by a 10-member delegation.

Dr Ling said the two countries agreed on joint cooperation on several projects.

“Yemen wants KLIA Berhad to make its presence felt in the Middle East by acting as a consultant for the building of several airports in Yemen and the Middle East,’’ he said.