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A tiny radio transmitter tag could be planted on passengers passing through Britain's airports to track their movements, a report in the Telegraph claims.

The technology has been trialled at Manchester airport for six months, tracking 50,000 volunteers passing through the security gates.

The radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs) enable security monitors to track the whereabouts of passengers while they are in the airport.

Under current plans, they would be attached to boarding cards when they are printed or when customers present them to airport staff.

According to the airport's head of innovation Yemmi Agbegi, the tag is designed to help airlines cut the number of delays caused by passengers who go AWOL in the airport.

But sceptics fear the tags could be used to trace people's location beyond their time in the airport.

Nevertheless, Dr Paul Brennan, who has been involved in another tagging trial, insists that the introduction of tags would not affect travellers in any negative way.

'It is intended to make sure that everybody gets to the flight in time. Delays are costing the industry £100 million a year,' Dr Brennan told the paper.

The technology can also be used to tag lost luggage.

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