The end of pesky liquids restrictions in airport hand luggage? UK airports could ditch rules by 2024

After a summer of travel woes characterised by endless queues at Europe’s largest airports, airline employee strikes and cancelled flights, passengers in the UK – and hopefully elsewhere – could soon benefit from the removal of a frustrating travel requirement: liquids brought on hand luggage being placed in containers that hold no more than 100ml.

Both men and women alike are used to the frustrations this rule poses, carefully checking each liquid container so that it does not exceed the maximum allowance, thereby avoiding airport staff throwing away expensive creams or products.

 The BBC reports that, according to sources, the UK government is considering rolling out more advanced scanners by mid-2024, although a final decision has not been taken yet.

An installation deadline already set had been missed due to the pandemic.

The advanced scanners operate in a similar fashion to CT scanners used in hospitals, providing a clearer and more accurate picture of the contents of a bag.

The UK Times reports that ministers have been carrying out a review, and that an announcement will be made before Christmas with the hopes the rule removal will cut down on queues in UK airports.

Heathrow chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, had famously partly blamed passengers for the long queues at the airport this summer for packing too much make-up into their hand luggage. Indeed, this summer most European travellers attempted to fly using only hand-luggage due to the number of horror stories being circulated by passengers whose luggage had been lost for weeks.

In addition to having to carry liquids in containers of no more than 100ml, passengers must also place those liquids in clear plastic bags and show them to security personnel. The new scanners could also serve to prevent passengers from having to remove laptops and electronic devices from their bags, further speeding up the airport security process.

The advanced scanners have already been in use by US airports for a number of years, such as in Atlanta and Chicago. The introduction of such technology within European airports would herald in a positive change for passengers’ pre-boarding process.