According to the Director-General of Dubai Police’s General Department of Airport Security, Pilot Ahmad Mohammad bin Thani, Arab tradition considers body scanners a violation of human rights and sanctity which is one of the reasons why Dubai airports do not use body scanners.
bin Thani said,
“There are many other alternatives that can be used instead of body scanners. Any new equipment must be fist tried on an experimental basis before rolling out in full service. For instance, the US plans to use device scanners for passengers by 2012. There are three types of scanners. The first one based on X-Rays where it shows the entire body. The second one relies on feedback frequencies that detects the outer body of human beings. And the third type depends on the milimeteric frequancies, which examine external body and is less dangerous than the former two and focuses mainly on arms and explosives, Bin Thani said.”
The Dubai Government has refused to apply any such device, Bin Thani confirmed, “because it is considered a violation of the privacy of travellers, whose bodies will be revealed to the inspectors”.
In fact, the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) does not ask airports to use such devices, he said.
He pointed out that “the devices used at Dubai airports, Al Maktoum, and Jebel Ali are entirely sufficient to secure the airports.”
“The security of passengers is of utmost importance and Dubai Airports have taken adequate measures to ensure passengers and travellers safety,” he said. Measures such as electronic gates, metal detectors, manual inspection, mobile handset inspections, apart from other equipment to detect explosives, weapons and gaseous substances are all in service at our airports”