Airports in the United Kingdom are considering getting rid of the limitations and rules for liquids packed in carry-on luggage, as well as requirements for laptop computers, by 2024, the BBC reports.
It’s not an abandonment of the rules; instead, it would be an enhancement. Airports will transition to high-tech sensors similar to 3D CT scanners that provide a cleaner, clearer picture, a source told the BBC.
Currently, passengers are allowed to bring liquids in their carry-on bags that total just 100 milliliters, or roughly 3.381 fluid ounces. The belief is that the enhanced technology will cut down on wait times at security — which, as any travelers who passed through a London airport this year knows, was abysmal. Not only was luggage processing backed up, with a mountain of travelers' bags piled up at Heathrow Airport at one point, but Delta Air Lines sent a jet with just a pilot and crew to London to retrieve passenger luggage.
The 3D scanners have been used on a trial basis at Heathrow, according to airport CEO John Holland-Kaye.
"We have just started the expansion of the security area in Terminal 3 which will have more CT scanners and have a deadline of mid-2024 from the (Department for Transport),” he told the Times of London. “By then the normal passenger experience will be that liquids stay in bags."
———
