The miserable experience of fumbling for lost boarding passes and endless queuing at airports could finally be a thing of the past, as airports of the future will feature biometric tickets, virtual assistants and fast molecular security scanners.

Designs for how airports could look in 25 years have been revealed - and they're not pie-in-the-sky because they include technology that is already being trialled and developed.

The research shows how check-in - a major source of queues and frustration for travellers - will become an automated doddle by 2040.

As well as online check-ins becoming far more common, passengers will be given a biometric token that will serve as their passport, boarding pass and ID for the journey, without havin to keep hold of their separate documents, according to airport parking operator and retailer Airport Parking and Hotels (APH), who created the vision.