In a move that is feared to cause confusion among holidaymakers this summer, United Kingdom rules about liquids on flights are being changed – again. Six UK airports have reintroduced restrictions on carrying liquids for passengers, after lifting the ban earlier this year.
Airports around the UK are in the midst of installing new security scanners that allow passengers to keep their liquids, tablets and laptops in their hand baggage during security checks, smoothing out one of the most stressful parts of air travel.
Tricky rollout
However, the rollout is proving tricky. Infrastructure requirements around the bigger, heavier, so-called Next Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC) mean that in some cases floors need to be reinforced. Some airports, including the UK’s biggest, have repeatedly failed to meet the deadlines for deploying the new screening equipment, which uses CT X-ray technology to create 3D images, allowing items to be checked even when left inside bags. The new machines mean liquids up to two litres can be permitted on board.
Among those airports that had succeeded in putting the new technology in place and been able to drop the 100ml liquid restriction on passenger luggage were six regional hubs: Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, London City, Aberdeen, Southend and Teesside. Bristol was due to come online with the new system on 14 June 2024.
Rules back to 100ml max
But now the 100ml restriction is back. From 9 June, the six have been told to reintroduce the restriction due to the need for what the UK Department of Transport (DFT) described only as “further improvements to be made to the new checkpoint systems”. The reintroduction of the 100ml rule has not come in response to a specific threat, the DFT said.
Earlier this year, consumer watchdog Which? said the constantly changing information about carry-on liquids and the deadline extensions for major airports risked creating uncertainty among the public about what they are and are not allowed to take on a flight.
Only a minority affected
But, urging passengers to double check rules with the airline and airport they are travelling with, Transport Secretary Mark Harper emphasized that only a small number of travellers would be affected by the chopping and changing regulations. Most would not experience a “reversion” to the old rules, because most were travelling via airports where the old system was still in operation and had never been changed in the first place.
“For most passengers actually the rules haven’t changed at all yet, and won’t therefore change tonight,” Harper said, speaking to BBC Breakfast. “It’s a temporary measure and we’ll set out when that can be reversed in due course,” he said.