Heathrow Airport is expected to miss a June 2025 deadline to install next-generation security scanners that eliminate the need for passengers to remove liquids and large electronic items like laptops from their hand luggage, sources quoted by Bloomberg claim.
The new Computed Tomography (CT) scanners create 3D images of hand luggage and use sophisticated algorithms to detect potential weapons, explosives, and other prohibited items that could be a danger to aviation security.
In 2022, the British government ordered major airports in the United Kingdom to replace older security scanners with next-generation CT scanners by last June, although the only airport to meet that deadline was London City Airport, which only handles regional and short-haul flights.
When it became clear that Heathrow, as well as several other airports, including Gatwick, would not reach the June 2024 deadline, the government begrudgingly offered a 12-month extension, although it now looks like that timeline might also slip.
According to the sources quoted by Bloomberg, the government is reticent to extend the deadline any further and if Heathrow doesn’t have the new scanners in time, then it could be slapped with massive fines.
One of the reasons that Heathrow has struggled to install the scanners on schedule is because the machines are so heavy that some floors within the airport had to be reinforced to safely accommodate them.
Last week, Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, wouldn’t be drawn on whether the deadline would be missed but insisted that the airport was doing its very best to get the scanners installed as fast as possible.
Woldbye cautioned, however, that the project was “big and complex” and that while most scanners would be upgraded ahead of June 2025, there could be “smaller areas that we need to mop up.”
Although CT scanners are actually slower than the machines they are replacing, it’s hoped that they will reduce the need for bags to be manually searched, thereby reducing the overall wait time for passengers.
The new scanners also eliminate the need for passengers to remove liquids and electronics from their hand luggage, although one of the main touted benefits of computed tomography – eliminating liquid restrictions – is currently on hold.
It has transpired that the algorithms used by the CT scanners have struggled to properly detect security risks when there is a lot of liquid in a single bag, and that has led to more bags than anticipated being rejected and requiring a manual search.
As a result, the 100ml liquid restriction remains in force, with passengers urged to keep all their liquids in a single resealable plastic bag. It remains unclear when the algorithms will be updated to eliminate the liquid restrictions rule.
