Pilots to boycott trial of ID cards

Airline pilots will refuse to take part in the national identity card scheme when trials begin at London City and Manchester airports this autumn.

The British Airline Pilots' Association will raise a legal challenge to Home Office plans to use "critical" airside workers to test the scheme.

The decision by Balpa, which represents more than 80 per cent of commercial pilots, is the latest blow to the project and follows former home secretary David Blunkett's suggestion that it should be repackaged as a biometric passport scheme.

MPs will shortly be asked to approve powers to force pilots and airside staff to register for ID cards as part of checks before they are employed. The scheme will try to persuade air staff to sign up by waiving the £30 registration fee.

Balpa has protested that the ID card scheme cannot be considered voluntary when workers will not be able to get an airport pass without one.