EU lawmakers have delayed the introduction at airports of full body scanners, machines that generate images of passengers without their clothes.
MEPs voted for a further study on the implications for privacy and health. Computer pictures generated by the scanners give an outline of passengers bodies beneath their clothes.
Supporters say they detect hidden objects not picked up by traditional metal detectors. But critics say they amount to a virtual strip search.
The new scanners have already been introduced in several US airports and have been tested around the world.
The European Commission - which supports their implementation - has given assurances that the scanners will not be used routinely on all passengers.
“The Commission believes that body scanning methods can complement in a very effective and efficient way the existing security measures at airports,” said spokesman Jens Mester at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
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