Iris scanners are being phased out at UK airports as the Border Agency considers new technology measures.
IRIS, which stands for Iris Recognition Immigration System, has already been removed from Birmingham and Manchester Airports but is still in effect at Gatwick and Heathrow and, according to the Border Agency website, will remain there until after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A statement from the UK Border Agency says:
"We continue to introduce new technology to protect the border while making legitimate travel easier. Electronic passport gates now operate at 15 of the country's busiest airport terminals and are available to millions of biometric passport holders. We are phasing out iris and will be replacing it with other types of gates that non-EU passengers will be able to use."
According to a BBC report in 2006 the Iris technology cost £2.86 million and began in June 2005 at Heathrow with plans to extend it to Gatwick, Birmingham, Stansted and Manchester.
NB: Image courtesy of Shutterstock