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Security restrictions on liquids and laptops in airport hand luggage could be abolished in the UK in 2024 thanks to the deployment of high-tech 3D scanners.
A source told the BBC the government is looking to introduce advanced technology similar to CT scanners used in hospitals within two years, although a final decision is yet to be made.
Currently, passengers carrying liquids in their cabin bags are restricted to containers of up to 100ml which must be placed in a single, transparent, reusable plastic bag when passing through airport security. The current rules have been in force since November 2006.
The Times reported that major UK airports have been given a deadline of mid-2024 to install more advanced scanners and that ministers are conducting a review with a formal announcement expected in the coming weeks.
Passengers failing to remove items from their bags or traveling with large bottles of liquids and creams are the biggest causes of delays at airport security.
New technology trialled since 2017 at London’s Heathrow Airport enables staff to zoom in on bag contents and rotate images for inspection.
Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, told The Times: “We’re gradually phasing them out.
“We have just started expanding the security area in Terminal 3 which will have more CT scanners and a deadline of mid-2024. [Department for Transport]. By then the common passenger experience will be that the liquid remains in the bag.
The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said rules on carrying liquids in hand luggage were being kept “under review”.
Harper told Sky News it was “on the back of some commentary from one of the airport bosses”. He added: “And I’m afraid you know our general practice on security matters is that we don’t comment on security matters. I think that’s very important.
“And now I am responsible for setting up the security system for our aviation sector. So if there are any changes coming, we will set them up for people in time.
“But at the moment there is a regime with strict limits on the liquids people can take on planes.”
This technology has been used for several years by US airports such as Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, Georgia and O’Hare in Chicago.
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