The British government has partially relaxed airport liquid rules after suddenly reimposing a 100ml limit at airports with next-generation security scanners last month. There is, however, a big catch.
A couple of years ago, the UK’s Department for Transport ordered airports to install the latest generation of Computed Tomography (CT) scanners with the very purpose of lifting the decades-old liquids rule, although things haven’t gone quite to plan.
The idea was to have the CT scanners in place at every major British airport by this summer, but the rollout has faced lengthy delays and airports like London Heathrow and Gatwick are way behind schedule.
Nonetheless, some airports have done a much better job at installing the new scanners and in April 2023, London City became the first airport in the UK to lift liquid limits after completing its CT scanner rollout.
Unfortunately, early last month, the DfT ordered London City and other airports with the scanners to reimpose the 100ml liquid limit.
The DfT hasn’t confirmed the exact reason behind the u-turn, although the government says the reason isn’t due to a specific threat but rather some sort of technical issue with the scanners – potentially, the AI built into the machines which is meant to detect potential threats.
Until some sort of software fix is sorted, the liquid rule will remain in force even as more CT scanners are installed at airports that have been lagging behind in fitting out security lanes with the machines.
There is, however, some good news for airport workers, who had also been banned from taking liquids through security as part of the u-turn. The DfT now says that security-cleared airport workers can now take food and drink in containers no larger than two litres through security so long as its for personal use during their shift.
Interestingly, the DfT has told airports and airlines that this increase is only a temporary alleviation for the summer period when staff might need to drink more to stay hydrated and will expire on 1st October.
That, of course, potentially means that there is no quick fix for the 100ml liquid limit with the next-generation security scanners.
