Security restrictions on liquids and laptops in airport hand baggage could possibly be eliminated within the UK, because of the rollout of latest high-tech 3D scanners.
For 16 years, air passengers have needed to take all hand baggage liquids, in containers of not more than 100ml, and electrical gadgets out of their baggage and switch them right into a separate tray or a small plastic bag to ensure that workers safety to examine.
Now the federal government is contemplating rolling out extra superior scanners, much like CT scanners utilized in hospitals, to be able to reduce down airport safety queues.
The Times newspaper reported that ministers have been reviewing a 2017 trial at Heathrow Airport, the place 3D scanners already in use within the US allowed workers to zoom in on a bag’s contents and rotate the photographs for inspection.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport stated: “We are at present contemplating the place on the long run screening of liquids and electronics being carried although UK airport safety checkpoints by passengers.
“This includes whether liquids and electronics may be left in cabin bags when being screened. A number of UK airports are currently trialling new technology which has the potential to allow this.”
Current rules, put in place in 2006, ended stricter restrictions on liquids within the cabin. They had been first imposed within the wake of British police foiling an Islamist transatlantic terror plot, which officers stated aimed to explode as many as 10 planes departing from London Heathrow, utilizing explosives hidden in drinks bottles.
Heathrow’s chief govt, John Holland-Kaye, advised The Times: “We are slowly rolling them out.
“We have simply began the enlargement of the safety space in Terminal 3 which could have extra CT scanners and have a deadline of mid-2024 from the [Department for Transport]. By then the conventional passenger expertise will likely be that liquids keep in baggage.”
Sky News understands that the Department for Transport is but to substantiate a date when the usage of the 3D scanners will start and new guidelines might come into drive.
Back in 2019, former prime minister Boris Johnson introduced plans for all main UK airports to introduce new 3D baggage screening tools to enhance safety.
At the time, authorities officers stated that when in place, the 100ml liquid restrict could not apply. The authentic deadline of December 2022 was affected by the COVID pandemic, with passenger numbers diminished on account of journey restrictions.
The Department for Transport added: “Passengers at UK airports must not carry liquid containers larger than 100ml through security, and both liquids and electronics should be taken out of cabin bags at airport security checkpoints.”
Source: information.sky.com”