Finnish citizens who will be flying from Helsinki to the UK via Finnair from now until the end of February 2024 can register as Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) users over the next six months, as part of a European Comission trial.

Participants must sign up at police service points in Tikkurila or Helsinki airport and follow the online instructions of the Finnish Border Guard, and can then use their digital documents at border control when leaving or arriving to their home country instead of a traditional passport. They must send their information to the authority each time they plan to use their DTC between four and 36 hours before their flight, but will still be subject to UK border control rules on arrival there.

Tony Smith, chairman of the International Border Management and Technologies Association, told i newspaper: “It is, essentially, a digital alternative to a passport which can be used on a mobile device to establish nationality and identity.

"It is likely that we will continue to see more and more countries introducing [this] in the future."

The documents are also set to be tested as Zagreb International Airpoirt in Croatia later this year and when the trial is over, the EU Commission is expected to work on a proposal to roll out digital passports to the rest of the European Union.