A trial programme has been rolled out in an obscure airport in Hungary to see whether airport security can be improved by passengers wearing tags with powerful radio chips in them.

The chips and technology used to monitor them has been developed at the University College London, and is funded by an EU group called Optag.

Passengers at Debrecen Airport will be given tags with identity information to wear around their necks when they get to the airport; these are tracked by high definition cameras and other devices as each chip has a range from 10m to 20m.

Not only are they designed to enhance security, but also to help to evacuate people in case of fire, to find children who are lost, and to locate passengers late for flights.

The tags are all too easy to swap or simply take off, and researchers have yet to figure out a way to compel passengers to wear them, without infringing their civil rights. The cost of the project is estimated at around €2 million.

A BAA spokesperson chose not to comment about the possibilities that the project offers, and instead commented that BAA does not discuss its security measures, future or otherwise.