Passports replaced by iris scanning in Amsterdam

Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is trialling a new system to scan frequent flyers' irises and record their personal data, removing the need for them to brandish a passport every time they pass through customs.

The airport has installed a number of computerised cameras and is offering the scheme to anybody who wishes take part - maintaining a passenger's right to queue up and pass through a more traditional passport control if they so wish.

Biometrics, such as retinal scans, handprints and voice recognition, have long been heralded as the future of security, but the Schiphol scheme is the first public trial of its type. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal Europeiris recognition is already used for entry to restricted access areas at BT and for vault security at one German bank.

The iris is the most most distinguishable feature of any individual - even more so than fingerprints.