The Australian government is to integrate biometric technology with security passes for workers at restricted areas of airports and seaports as part of an upgrade to aviation security.

Biometrics will be added to aviation security identity cards (ASICs) that are issued to pilots, baggage handlers, passenger screening staff and others working in secure areas of airports and to the maritime security identity card (MSIC) used at ports and for offshore oil and gas sectors.

 

Infrastructure and Transport minister Darren Chester said: “Biometrics provide the highest level of identity assurance. The integration of biometrics into the ASIC and MSIC schemes is a long-term initiative.”

 

The move comes after a failed terror plot in Sydney in July that would have blown up a passenger jet.