TRAVELLING out to another country can already potentially be a stressful situation, and that's without new rules to be aware of.
There are often slight changes to certain practices and procedures in travel hubs and that will be no different in 2024.
Some of these will be a fair departure from what people are used to, including changes to EU border controls and an altering of the 100ml liquid hand luggage restriction.
Here are some of the new rules and restrictions travellers will have to keep in mind at some point during 2024.
New travel rules to be aware of for 2024
100ml liquid hand luggage rule change
A common feature of going through airports is not being able to take containers holding more than 100ml of liquid onboard the plane in hand luggage. That is set to change during 2024.
Back in December 2022, the Government announced that up to two litres of liquids could be taken in hand luggage by June.
This is due to security scanners being upgraded, and London City Airport has already implemented this feature.
For clarification, this change would just be for UK airports, so the old rules about liquids may apply at airports abroad and until airports confirm the scanners are complete existing rules stay in place, The Mirror reports.
New EU border controls
Changes to the way EU border control works will occur in the autumn of 2024 and will apply to any non-EU citizens travelling into EU countries.
Their entry/exit system (EES) will be replacing the stamping of passports at airports.
The digital process will include registering the person's name, their type of travel document, fingerprints and captured facial images and the date and place of entry and exit, The Mirror reports.
The aim of the system is ultimately to save time but UK travellers have still been warned they could face long queues.
Tourist taxes
A number of destinations will be raising taxes in certain ways in an attempt to manage tourist numbers.
For example, Venice will be charging a €5 entrance fee for those people just visiting for the day whilst the hotel room tax rate in Amsterdam will go up to 12.5%.
That means if you stay in a room costing £100 a night, you'll have to fork out £12.50 extra.
Child use of e-Gates
Children as young as 10 can now use e-Gates to travel into the UK, with the system allowing for the quick checking of passports. Previously they had to be 12 to use them.
The gates are installed at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle airports.
Additionally, they are used at UK border controls at the Eurostar terminals in Brussels and Paris.
