Laptop? Liquids? UK moves to eliminate some airport security obstacles
They are the rituals of modern travel: the frantic drinking of water bottles in airport security lines, the shampoos tossed into the trash, the fights over whether Bolognese sauce is a solid or a liquid. And, as far as the British government is concerned, those days should come to an end by June 2024. On Thursday, the British government said that new technology at its airports could let it substantially relax and speed up security checks, allowing liquid containers of up to two liters in hand luggage and doing away with a requirement to extract big electronics, like laptops or tablets, from carry-on bags. Some airports around the world have already started introducing similar technology and scrapping the requirements, but experts said that Britain was ahead of the game in making a countrywide announcement. “The UK are the pioneers,” said Jeffrey C. Price, a professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. “We’re not aware of similar announcements/initiatives by other countries,” Perry Flint, a spokesman for the IATA, a trade group for the world’s airlines, said in an email. It is not the first time that Britain has made such an announcement. In 2019, the prime minister at the time, Boris Johnson, announced plans for all major British airports to introduce the screening equipment that would lead to the relaxing of the liquids rule by this month. The investment in new technology was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, airports will have until June 2024 to upgrade their equipment and screening processes, the government said. All airports in Britain will be required to adopt the latest technology in screening carry-on bags, said Laura Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Department for Transport, but the technology could vary between airports and be put in place at different times. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said he would ensure the use of the security technology at all “major” British airports by the June deadline.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-12-19/general/laptop-liquids-uk-moves-to-eliminate-some-airport-security-obstacles
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Laptop? Liquids? UK moves to eliminate some airport security obstacles
They are the rituals of modern travel: the frantic drinking of water bottles in airport security lines, the shampoos tossed into the trash, the fights over whether Bolognese sauce is a solid or a liquid. And, as far as the British government is concerned, those days should come to an end by June 2024. On Thursday, the British government said that new technology at its airports could let it substantially relax and speed up security checks, allowing liquid containers of up to two liters in hand luggage and doing away with a requirement to extract big electronics, like laptops or tablets, from carry-on bags. Some airports around the world have already started introducing similar technology and scrapping the requirements, but experts said that Britain was ahead of the game in making a countrywide announcement. “The UK are the pioneers,” said Jeffrey C. Price, a professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. “We’re not aware of similar announcements/initiatives by other countries,” Perry Flint, a spokesman for the IATA, a trade group for the world’s airlines, said in an email. It is not the first time that Britain has made such an announcement. In 2019, the prime minister at the time, Boris Johnson, announced plans for all major British airports to introduce the screening equipment that would lead to the relaxing of the liquids rule by this month. The investment in new technology was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, airports will have until June 2024 to upgrade their equipment and screening processes, the government said. All airports in Britain will be required to adopt the latest technology in screening carry-on bags, said Laura Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Department for Transport, but the technology could vary between airports and be put in place at different times. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said he would ensure the use of the security technology at all “major” British airports by the June deadline.<br/>
