Whether you fear them, loathe them or welcome them, body scanners have arrived at London's Heathrow Airport.

Reuters reports that the British government has found it essential to begin deploying the scanners, given the security threat level which was recently raised to "severe." Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said that airports at Heathrow and Manchester, northern England, were the first required to use the scanners and others would follow. Scanners will be introduced at Birmingham airport (in central England) this month.

As the deployment begins, the Transport Secretary notes that only a small portion of airline passengers will be selected for scanning. If a passenger declines, the person will not be permitted to fly. The authorities have instituted an interim code of practice which warns security staff that passengers should not be selected for scanning on the basis of gender, age, race or ethnic origin. There will be a public consultation on the rules for scanners that will be used to produce a final code of practice, according to the report.

The European Union is still debating the use of body scanners at airports throughout the 27-member bloc of nations. Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, where a man hiding explosives in his underwear boarded a Delta Air Lines (Northwest Airlines) flight to Detroit last Christmas Day, has installed 15 body scanners and plans to install more. France and Italy have plans to install and use the scanners.

IAPA has heard from members and non-members alike and the trend seems to indicate that, despite opposition to the scanners because of any perceived privacy infringements the machines may pose, most flyers are resolved to the fact they are a reality they will have to contend with. In some cases, flyers are eager to use them if it means being able to get through security faster. What do you think? Has anyone been through one of the scanners yet?