Canberra Airport will begin a trial today of a new body scanner, ahead of the beginning of international flights in September.

The full-body scanners, which are a new technology that can detect dangerous items of any material hidden beneath clothing, are an alternative to pat down searches.

The technology will be the first of its kind in Australia but similar scanners are already in use in airports across Europe.

The Canberra Airport's Steven Byron said passengers would be given a choice about whether to be screened.

"The body scanner that will be in place at the domestic screening point at Canberra Airport is on a trial because it is new technology," he said.

From September, Singapore Airlines will make Canberra a stopover point on trips between Singapore and Wellington in New Zealand.

Melbourne and Sydney airports trialled full-body scanners five years ago, but met with concerns over privacy.

But Mr Byron dismissed any similar concerns in Canberra, saying that issues raised at other airports "settled down immediately" once the scanners were in operation.

Passengers who chose to be scanned will have to walk in front of a designated zone and turn 360 degrees with their arms raised, before waiting momentarily for clearance from the operator.