Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) opened an EU-wide probe on Friday into whether Ryanair's use of facial recognition technology to verify the identity of customers booking through third party websites violates the bloc's privacy laws.

Ryanair Holdings Plc’s processing of personal data will be reviewed by Ireland’s data protection regulator after some customers complained about the airline asking for additional identity verification for tickets bought on third-party booking websites.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has opened an inquiry into Ryanair's process of gathering biometric data on some passengers. The investigation relates to the airline's processing of personal data as part of its Customer Verification Processes for customers who book Ryanair flights from third-party websites or online travel agents.