John F. Kennedy International Airport has become the first airport in the United States to use iris scanning technology to prevent employee security breaches. Kennedy has been testing the technology on about 300 employees working at Terminal 4 for two months, although the program is not mandatory for now. The idea is that the technology prevents employees from giving their ID cards to someone else. The scanner stores 247 traits of a person's iris into a computer and on his or her ID card's magnetic strip.

Terminal officials said they believe the technique is more specific than fingerprinting, which checks for 85 traits. The $2,000 iris scanner and the $15,000 door barring entry into a secure area have been installed at the customs area leading to the tarmac. If the scanner fails to match an employee's eyes and card, an alarm sounds and security guards are dispatched. After swiping their cards, workers peer into the scanner for 10 to 15 seconds, until the door clicks open. The system works with contact lenses and eyeglasses, but not with sunglasses. The Charlotte, North Carolina, airport used similar technology in 2000, but suspended the system last year.