Greece on Monday banned Athens International Airport from checking and recording passengers' fingerprints and irises as part of a pilot security program saying it was in breach of local privacy laws.

The decision by the state's Data Protection Authority comes about one month after the airport announced the launch of the program, initially limited to passengers flying with Italian carrier Alitalia to Milan.

"The authority has decided not to allow the implementation of this pilot program," the state's privacy watchdog said in a statement on its web site.

Last month it said it was investigating whether the program was violating Greek personal data protection laws.

The airport, a main point of entry for hundreds of thousands of visitors during next year's Olympic Games, announced the program in October and purchased equipment for the checks on volunteer passengers during check-in and boarding.

"The airport would have started this program in the first two weeks of November if all went well," an Athens Airport official said. "But now the equipment has not been installed."

The airport said the project, launched in association with Alitalia, Milan's Malpensa Airport, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and several technology firms, would only have run for five months and would not have been used during the Olympic Games next August.

(Reuters)