Security restrictions on liquids and laptops in airport hand baggage could be axed in the UK inside two years thanks to high-tech 3D scanners
The. authorities is taking into account rolling out the more advanced scanners by mid-2024, a source told the BBC, though a final selection has but to be made.
The equipment, similar to CT scanners used in hospitals, provides a clearer snapshot of a bag’s contents
A. prior installing deadline slipped due to the pandemic
Currently,. passengers taking liquid in their cabin baggage are restricted to clear plastic bags holding no more than 100ml, which should be shown to security employees in a single, transparent, resealable plastic bag of about 20cm (8in) x 20cm
Those. limits have been in place since November 2006. Their introduction ended a ban on liquids in the cabin imposed three months earlier, when British police suggested they had foiled a plot to blow up as many as 10 planes utilizing explosives hidden in drinks bottles
But. the new technology facilitates employees to zoom in on a bag’s contents and rotate the photographs for inspection
The. 3D scanners have been trialled at London Heathrow Airport, beginning in 2017
Its. chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, told The Times newspaper: “We are slowly rolling them out
“We. have just began the enlargement of the security vicinity in Terminal 3 which will have more CT scanners and have a deadline of mid-2024 from the [Department for Transport]. By then the typical passenger expertise will be that liquids stay in bags”
The. technology has already been in use by US airports, such as Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago’s O’Hare, for a quantity of years
But. passenger numbers have been dented during the pandemic with journey restrictions in place throughout a lot of the globe
A. spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said: “Passengers at UK airports should not carry liquid containers larger than 100ml by way of security, and both liquids and electronics ought to be taken out of cabin bags at airport security checkpoints”
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- 21 October
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- 7 February
