BAA has climbed down over plans to fingerprint passengers at Heathrow’s new fifth terminal after the privacy watchdog said the move may be illegal.

The Spanish-owned airport operator had hoped to take four fingerprints from passengers arriving at the £4.3 billion terminal, which opens to-day. The plan would have affected all domestic passengers using Terminal 5, as well as international travellers transferring to an internal flight.

The Information Commissioner’s Office expressed concern that the move was another step towards a surveillance society and warned BAA that it might breach data protection laws. It said: “Our concern is with the surveillance society. Why do they need fingerprints, and why four? Why are other airports able to operate with just photographs, and is this a proportionate response?”

A spokesman for BAA said: “Following a meeting with all relevant parties, including the Information Commissioner and the Border and Immigration Agency, the introduction of fingerprinting for domestic passengers and international passengers transferring on to domestic flights at Heathrow will be temporarily delayed.”

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “BAA’s decision to abandon their intrusive plans to fingerprint all passengers at the new Heathrow terminal is welcome. It is disappointing, however, that the Information Commissioner had to question the legality of this invasive process before BAA agreed to drop it.”

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