9 UK airports with new scanners still forced to follow 100ml liquid rules

Despite the Department for Transport's extremity to present state-of-the-art scanners crossed the UK, 4 large hubs are inactive delayed.

New state-of-the-art scanners person been installed astatine 9 airports crossed the state - but they're presently of nary payment to information queues.

It’s been implicit 2 years since the Department of Transport announced a “major shake-up of airdrome information rules” to amended surface liquids and electrical items specified arsenic laptops. The information update was highly anticipated by travellers arsenic it would yet extremity the inconvenient 100ml bounds connected liquids, aerosols and gels (LAG) for manus luggage. The 100ml bounds was initially implemented successful 2006 aft a foiled panic crippled but was lone ever meant to beryllium a impermanent measure. But dilatory advancement to modernise information exertion has seen the measurement extended.

The driving unit down the much relaxed information update was the availability of caller state-of-the-art information scanners that would beryllium amended equipped for rider screening. The blase Computed Tomography (CT) scanners—the aforesaid exertion utilized for aesculapian scanners—are susceptible of creating 3D images of luggage to amended observe imaginable threats. The superiority of these scanners are 1 mode that airports are striving to modernise successful bid to trim rider queue times. Initially, determination was a June 2024 deadline for UK airports to integrate the caller information measurement that would spot the 100ml LAG bounds scrapped.

Some smaller airports crossed the UK were capable to successfully integrate the caller scanning instrumentality by the June deadline, arsenic a effect of having less lanes to update. However, larger airports struggled to conscionable the deadline for reasons varying from post-COVID proviso concatenation issues to the request for further operation work.

Four large airports inactive without scanners

Four large UK airports warned respective months successful advance that they would conflict to instrumentality the caller scanners by June. As a result, transport secretary, Mark Harper, granted airports extensions connected a “case-by-case basis” but warned that further delays would effect successful fines. However, a week aft the deadline passed, the Department for Transport reversed its archetypal plans, forcing adjacent the tiny airports that had successfully installed the caller scanners to reimplement the 100ml LAG limit.

Currently, these are the UK airports with CT scanners operating astatine afloat capacity:

• London City

• London Southend

• Teesside

• Newcastle

• Birmingham

• Aberdeen

• Inverness

• Stornoway

• Bristol

Despite having the CT scanners installed and afloat operational, the 100ml LAG bounds is inactive successful play astatine these 9 airports. Though passengers are nary longer required to region LAGs from their manus luggage astatine information checkpoints.

The large airports of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester, each of which warned they would not beryllium capable to conscionable past year’s June deadline, person inactive not yet implemented the CT scanners astatine afloat capacity.