UK airports to ease restrictions on liquids and laptops in carry-on bags | Smart news | Daily News Byte

By mid-2024, airports in the United Kingdom will allow passengers to carry up to 67.6 ounces (2 liters) of liquids in their carry-on bags, up from the current limit of 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters). Passengers will not need to remove liquids or large electronic items like laptops from their bags while going through security checkpoints.

The UK government announced the upcoming changes in a statement last week, calling them “the biggest change to airport security rules in decades”. The current liquid limit has been in place since 2006, when authorities foiled a terrorist plot to bring liquid explosives onto flights bound for the United States.

“Small toilets have become a staple of airport security checkpoints, but that’s all set to change,” Mark Harper, the UK’s head of transportation, said in a statement.

To make this vision a reality, all UK airports will need to install updated security screening devices that make it easier to look inside carry-on luggage and identify potential threats.

Newer X-ray scanners rely on computed tomography (CT) technology, similar to the CT scans doctors use in medical settings. Condé Nast Travelerof Jessica Puckett. The technology creates highly detailed 3-D images of the luggage’s contents, then uses sophisticated threat-detection algorithms to alert security agents of any potential problems.

After conducting trials of the technology starting in 2018, the UK government has now set a June 2024 deadline for all airports to upgrade their equipment and processes. The new tech should help speed up security screening and shorten lines.

Many US airports have installed new CT scanners in recent years. As of May, 163 airports across the country had added 402 scanners to their security checkpoints, according to a statement from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The TSA slightly relaxed its rules at airports using the technology, which allows travelers to leave food, electronics and travel-sized liquids in their carry-on bags as they pass through checkpoints. But TSA spokesman Robert Carter Langston says that, despite the more sophisticated tech, TSA officials say they are still “years away” from changing the current liquid rules. Conde Nast Traveler.

Currently, the US Travelers flying through the airport can only bring 3.4 ounces or less of liquids in their carry-on bags, and they must all be able to fit inside a clear, one-quart bag. TSA leaders may feel differently in a few years, however, once their counterparts across the Atlantic implement their new rules.

“I believe that the TSA and other aviation security organizations will closely and carefully study the consequences of the UK’s decision,” says Henry Hartveldt, travel analyst at Atmosphere Research. Conde Nast Traveler.

New security scanners aren’t the only travel upgrade happening across the pond. In November, the European Commission decided to allow airlines to provide 5G connectivity on their planes, meaning travelers will soon be able to make phone calls while flying.

In the US, meanwhile, travelers no longer have to show their boarding passes at security checkpoints at some airports, thanks to the installation of a new credential authentication technology system. Also this year, the TSA began allowing some travelers to upload their state-issued ID to their Apple Wallet app and then use their iPhone or Apple Watch as a form of identification at security.