Spanish airline Iberia has partnered with Samsung to enable travellers to store their boarding passes on their NFC phones. The new service can also be used to speed up luggage check-in and download information in airport lounges and at Iberia Quick Service Point kiosks.

Iberia customers will be able to download their boarding pass to their Samsung NFC phone by clicking an option during the online check-in process. They will then be able to use their phone instead of a printed pass at multiple airport locations, including at check-in, security and boarding. Boarding passes will be stored in travellers' SIM cards, Samsung says, rather than an embedded secure element.

"The reading process will be faster than current optical barcode readers, thus passing through the security checkpoint and boarding will be made in less time for greater passenger comfort," the partners say.

The service will work even when a traveller's phone is turned off or has a flat battery, they add.