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Airline passengers may be tagged when they enter an airport in a bid to increase security.

The proposals have been put forward by Dr Paul Brennan of University College London and a pilot scheme is to be carried out in Hungary.

Codenamed Optag, the project would see passengers fitted with an electronic wrist band that allows security officials to monitor their movements while inside the airport.

The tags would work in conjunction with CCTV cameras meaning staff would know if somebody had entered an out-of-bounds area and would also be able to track someone who they felt was acting suspiciously.

As well as the security issues, the tags can also help with the locating of children who have become lost and could be used to ensure passengers get to their flights on time.

Flights which have been delayed as a result of late-arriving passengers cost airlines 100m (£67m) every year in Europe alone.

Dr Brenan told journalists at a briefing that he did not think the tags would prevent determined terrorists from carrying out atrocities but they would increase security.

'You could monitor passenger movements if people were already under suspicion,' he said. 'You might see groups meeting up and then dispersing, and if the pattern of behaviour was suspicious you could take action.'

The scheme will be trialled in Hungary this year and could be operational by 2008.

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