We’re slowly seeing some countries start to ease their restrictions on traveling with liquids in carry-on bags. Unfortunately we shouldn’t expect anything similar in the United States anytime soon…
In this post:
The TSA’s liquids restrictions are here to stay
If you’ve traveled within the United States, you’re probably familiar with the “3-1-1” rule from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), whereby passengers are limited in terms of the number of liquids, gels, and aerosols, that they can take in their carry-on bags. Each passenger can take up to one quart-size bag of these items, with no liquids being in containers of more than 3.4 ounces (or 100 milliliters).
These restrictions have been in place since 2006, and while they were initially described as temporary, they’re still in place, nearly 20 years later.
The good news is that in some parts of the world, we’re slowly seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. For example, the UK is planning on lifting current liquids restrictions in 2025, coinciding with the full rollout of new security scanners.
Unfortunately don’t expect a similar timeline in the United States. The good news is that the United States does plan on lifting liquids restrictions when new scanners are rolled out. The bad news is that these won’t be rolled out nationwide until 2040 or so. As reported by Travel + Leisure, here’s what a TSA spokesperson had to say:
“TSA is still deploying Computed Tomography (CT) units that are capable of screening larger sizes of liquids, however the agency will not be able to change the current 3-1-1 liquids rule for some time to come, because there are about 2,000 screening lanes in about 430 airports. We are anticipating that it may not be until 2040 that we have CT units fully deployed across the nation and have the capability of changing the requirement across the system.”
So yeah, the liquids restrictions may eventually be lifted, but it’s going to be well over 15 more years until they’re rolled out nationwide. I of course get that the US has so many airports and that replacing all of them takes a lot of time, but am I the only one that things that sounds like a really, really long time?
Like, in some cases, are the same scanners currently in use still going to be in use in the late 2030s? It’s just wild to think that my toddler son will (hopefully) be in college by the these restrictions are changed. Yikes.
These improved TSA machines are a mixed bag
In theory, I of course understand and appreciate the desire to introduce CT scanners with better technology. These units provide better 3D imaging, and have a more sophisticated algorithm, which TSA officers can use to get a better view of a bag’s contents. This should reduce the number of bag checks that are required, and will also eventually lead to liquids restrictions being lifted.
However, am I the only one who also always avoids these scanners at the airport, when given the choice between this and a traditional one? Personally I find them to be so much slower than the old machines:
- It seems that it takes more time for each bag to be screened, so the line doesn’t seem to move very fast
- For many of these machines, every bag has to be placed in a bin, rather than being placed directly on the belt, which adds a layer of complexity
- My least favorite thing is how there are multiple “stations” where you load your belongings onto the belt, and if you’re in one of the stations toward the back, it can take forever until your items are actually screened, since belongings from the first couple of stations often get pulled in front
So yeah, I’m excited that these machines will eventually allow liquids restrictions to be eased, but that’s about it. However, it sounds like we’ll have to suffer through these for another 15+ years before we get the main benefits of the better screening technology.
Bottom line
The TSA plans to lift carry-on liquids restrictions once new security scanners are installed, as is the case in many countries. The catch is that the TSA expects this to take all the way until 2040, which sure is a long time. So while we’ll see some countries in Europe lift these restrictions in the next couple of years, we’ll have to wait 15+ years.
What do you make of the timeline for the TSA easing liquids restrictions?
In all the time countries have been doing the liquids and other checks, minus the metal detection, I wonder how many terrorists they have caught?
Seems a lit of money, time and inconvenience has been spent for no result.
Maybe better Intel and random screening would achieve the same results at a significantly lower cost
The restrictive liquid rules have long gone from Australian domestic terminals (and checks are done, apparently without undue concerns, by security contract firms). That doesn't apply to international departures. Domestic passengers are segregated from international so we can apply our own rules, but US and other international departures are not separated from each other so the US rules, including the 100ml rules, are applied to all.
It appears that the safety regulators specify detection standards...
The restrictive liquid rules have long gone from Australian domestic terminals (and checks are done, apparently without undue concerns, by security contract firms). That doesn't apply to international departures. Domestic passengers are segregated from international so we can apply our own rules, but US and other international departures are not separated from each other so the US rules, including the 100ml rules, are applied to all.
It appears that the safety regulators specify detection standards and leave it to individual airports to structure scanning to meet them. That means that different airports have different requirements (belts, laptops and aerosols (not liquids in general) in or out. My guess is that they upgrade to meet faster passenger handling goals for their own purposes, less so for passenger convenience. Many terminals are multi-user so it becomes an airport initiative but for the ones that are single-airline, the carrier would have its own objectives.
I'm generally aware of what rules apply where, but check signs and ask to confirm, the security staff are usually pretty good about it. Is it a big deal that I don't have to empty my water bottle? No, but it's nice not to have to think about it!
This borders on a make work project by TSA.
Has there ever been an explosive device found in the world or any incident that was blamed on a liquid container?
Considering what is known to get through the TSA lines one wonders why the focus on liquids/gels.
Azamaraal hits the nail on the head. TSA has always been an egregiously bad govt work programme, in all but name. Not even wearing 'police style' uniforms confers any respect on its members. Give me real customs, immigration and police officers. Not these cos-play security theatre actors.
Stupid argument.
Just because you don't understand chemistry doesn't mean chemistry doesn't work.
TSA doing a bad job is separate from the scope of work for TSA.
I believe it was Finland where I flew in and out of last year and no issue with liquids I’ve 3 oz. Is that because terrorists don’t care about Finland, their spectrometers are better or they take a risk?
Very very unfortunately Finland will be restricting liquids in carryons to 100 ml again starting Sept. 1. Flyertalk has many tales of their new scanners malfunctioning and in general being excruciatingly slow. Thus security theater continues not just in the US, brave and free land of security.
Security theater again ...
Welp, I take back all the nice things I said about TSA in the last post. A 15 year timeline is ridiculous.
@Ben The UK and the EU have reimposed the restrictions. One example site https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/29609251/european-airports-strict-liquid-rules-return/
I'd hope that rules change for those with TSA Precheck, the liquid restrictions end much sooner than 2040 for those with pre-check
Couple of things to add to this!
Firstly, as you say, the countries that have the most screening lanes take the longest to modernise. This leads to the ironic situation that is one travels through an economically recovering eastern European country, their technology is state of the art. Travel through the US or the UK, though, and you're stuck with grumpy, barely employable people screaming at you about how to accommodate the whims and finicks...
Couple of things to add to this!
Firstly, as you say, the countries that have the most screening lanes take the longest to modernise. This leads to the ironic situation that is one travels through an economically recovering eastern European country, their technology is state of the art. Travel through the US or the UK, though, and you're stuck with grumpy, barely employable people screaming at you about how to accommodate the whims and finicks of their ancient tech.
Secondly, when it comes to the US, liquid removal is the least of my worries courtesy of the TSA. As a knee jerk response to the attempted shoe bomber, the TSA started requiring shoe removal a few years ago. Other countries did, too- but they all gave it up within a year or so on account of it being silly.
Well over a decade later, the TSA are still mandating shoe removal, which is time consuming, irritating, and frankly bizarre.
As a side note, I don't advise responding to a request for shoe removal with the phrase "sorry, I always forget that you guys all have a massive foot fetish". They don't appear to see the funny side of that one
#Britishstereotype
My experience is a bit different from Ben's.
Parallel divestment stations (using bins): love it, no longer getting stuck behind a grandma with 3 grand kids taking forever to unload everything onto the belt. They can take their sweet time, while I am standing next to them putting my stuff into bins and pushing them onto the belt.
CT vs conventional scanners: First, electronics can stay in the bag. Seconds, 3D images reduce the number...
My experience is a bit different from Ben's.
Parallel divestment stations (using bins): love it, no longer getting stuck behind a grandma with 3 grand kids taking forever to unload everything onto the belt. They can take their sweet time, while I am standing next to them putting my stuff into bins and pushing them onto the belt.
CT vs conventional scanners: First, electronics can stay in the bag. Seconds, 3D images reduce the number of hand searches. I had exact same bag going through both scanners when flying NRT-GUM-ROR (Guam has no airside transit, like the rest of the US). Had small nail clippers on top of other things. On conventional scanner in NRT, they just see a clump of metal and divert the bag for a hand search. Guam has CT scanners (same model as in the photo, Analogic ConneCT). With the 3D image, they could zoom in, then literally slice through the image until they clearly see the nail clippers and send me on my way, no hand search or re-scan needed.
Someone else commented about different rules at different airports: that may actually be intentional. Overall security is better when there is variability in screening process, instead of everyone following exact same protocol. Harder to find a loophole if you don't know exactly how you will be screened.
If a presidential candidate ran on ending this rule, there's a good chance they'd win.
DeSantis would’ve done it, I think.
are you Christina Pushaw? bc thats the only way this comment makes sense
Maybe it slipped your attention, but in the EU it was just decided to roll-back changes that lifted the restrictions in some places. I am wondering, with the FAA announcement and the EU decision coming at the same time, whether there is more behind this story (e.g. threats the public does not know of). Not conspiring, just thinking.
No the EU simply been pressure really hard from the US for some reason - quite a bummer!!
The liquids restriction as a whole is stupid and CT scanners, while better at analysing structure, can't perform chemical analysis anyway. A wine bottle is still a wine bottle. They already have explosive trace detection machines to use as required.
There are developed countries in which you can fly domestically without this stupid rule.
I will vote for whomever lifts this restriction
US Congress approves the budget.
Write your Congresspeople about your displeasure, especially if they're red (they're the ones that block new stuff, unless it's from one of their lobbies like defense). Long lines and surly screeners disappeared when Congress they finally approved pay rises; they can approve new tech too, but many want to cut the budget more instead.
The Reds are too busy throwing money to Israel and megachurches while the Blues are too busy throwing money to Ukraine and single moms. And both ultimately throw money to the pockets of themselves, friends, and family
We can't bother to use that money to better our crumbling infrastructure.
I usually can avoid these with Pre but sometimes I have no choice. Yes the machines are much slower. To make things worse, when you’re bag gets called out for more screening your have to wait in line. Once they get to your bag they often don’t open it up and instead say they want to put it through the machine again so the process starts all over. After 2-3 times I beg them to...
I usually can avoid these with Pre but sometimes I have no choice. Yes the machines are much slower. To make things worse, when you’re bag gets called out for more screening your have to wait in line. Once they get to your bag they often don’t open it up and instead say they want to put it through the machine again so the process starts all over. After 2-3 times I beg them to just look through my bag and let me be in my way.
We all know what doing the same thing and expecting different results is….
Enough with the theater
Everyone reading this article should look into their news site of choice for the recent report that key evidence linking Saudi Arabia (and an agent of same) to 9/11 has come to light that wasn't even given to the 9/11 Commission. Former CIA Director Tenet was quoted along the lines of "well, that sucks, that shouldn't have happened."
Forget JFK. 9/11 was such a colossal conspiracy, even if the Commander-In-Chief was unaware, that the...
Everyone reading this article should look into their news site of choice for the recent report that key evidence linking Saudi Arabia (and an agent of same) to 9/11 has come to light that wasn't even given to the 9/11 Commission. Former CIA Director Tenet was quoted along the lines of "well, that sucks, that shouldn't have happened."
Forget JFK. 9/11 was such a colossal conspiracy, even if the Commander-In-Chief was unaware, that the official record defies credulity. Or, as Paul Weiss could tell you, does not meet the standard of reasonable doubt.
BTW Paul, fellow Duke alum here. Say hi to Drs. Haagen and Metzloff when you get the time.
No Planes Hit Building 7 and It Blew up?
The only thing dumber than a conspiracy, is using real facts to creat some pretend conspiracy. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. That is common knowledge. Look it up on the 9/11 website. There is nothing conspiratorial about that. Go back to school wierdo.
Hi Dutch birdbrain. All I speak on is common knowledge. No "9/11 website" needed. Facts change. They come out after prosecution. In case you haven't noticed, they're still prosecuting the main architect of the attacks. My colleague Paul Weiss can tell you. Speaking of which, how about the Blue Devils this season? New Wemby on the horizon?
What year did you graduate?
The Scanners were The Idea of Former Homeland Secretary, "Michael Chertoff". He was an early Investor in the Company that sold the scanners. He is a multi millionaire, living in Israel. makes you wonder who else got Rich after 9/11, besides Mr Silverstien who Doubled the Insurance on WTC Towers Days before 9/11. He ended up getting $3 Billion Dollars from the insurance companies and concessions worth Billions from US Govt. TAX FREE!
Sigh. Biglaw’s new troll Paul Weiss is even more lame.
Complain, complain, complain! Add no value or insight, just whine!
Just follow the money. Lots of money is made at all of America’s airports just because liquids are kept out.
IF the tsa have other priorities that are good for the consumers I would be inclined to not care but it's the govt after all. Part of the problem is that they can't hire enough competent people. The staff are mostly there to fill a slot to perform 35 hours of minimal work effort. I don't care all that much since pre check takes care of this for me. I'm more interested in international airports...
IF the tsa have other priorities that are good for the consumers I would be inclined to not care but it's the govt after all. Part of the problem is that they can't hire enough competent people. The staff are mostly there to fill a slot to perform 35 hours of minimal work effort. I don't care all that much since pre check takes care of this for me. I'm more interested in international airports doing away with the rules so that I don't have to care about it. 2040....I might be dead by then.
Ben, when will OMAAT allow readers to mute or block certain commenters?
Aww poor you! The atrocity of having to sit through comments in an open comments section! As if your comments are liked by everybody and nobody is repulsed by you, correct, TravelinPenis?
Chrome and Firefox both support element-blocking add ons that are free to download from their respective add-on marketplaces, which you could use to hide comments that meet your criteria for what you want to mute or block. But then you wouldn't get the...
Aww poor you! The atrocity of having to sit through comments in an open comments section! As if your comments are liked by everybody and nobody is repulsed by you, correct, TravelinPenis?
Chrome and Firefox both support element-blocking add ons that are free to download from their respective add-on marketplaces, which you could use to hide comments that meet your criteria for what you want to mute or block. But then you wouldn't get the chance to whine in public and show everybody your self-importance in how you feel your comments are worthy of publication and an audience, while others' are not.
TravellinPenis, your new name has caught on. No need to thank me, dude. It was a PLEASURE.
They still require shoes to be taken off, why would anyone think theyd change their liquid requirements lol
The TSA in 2013 proposed to allow small knives, after widespread opposition they canceled the proposal. They have been taught not to propose any relaxation to the rules.
The TSA: aways fighting the last war.
Flew out of DUB in T1 today and used the new CT scanners, what happened was the bags got screened rather efficiently, but after I had put them all on the belt I had to join a ridiculously long queue to go through the new body scanners. My bags had long been processed by the time I got through, but one had been selected to be rescreened which then took seemingly forever to come back through…
Hi Ben,
I mostly fly out of Munich, Germany where at Terminal 2 they provide 8 lanes by now with CT scanners. Even if the line is incredibly long, it NEVER takes more than 20-25 minutes to get through. Even liquid containers of 1 litre are accepted - if in doubt, they make a quick (explosive) test. More CT lanes to come. I don’t get it why in the US it should take 15!...
Hi Ben,
I mostly fly out of Munich, Germany where at Terminal 2 they provide 8 lanes by now with CT scanners. Even if the line is incredibly long, it NEVER takes more than 20-25 minutes to get through. Even liquid containers of 1 litre are accepted - if in doubt, they make a quick (explosive) test. More CT lanes to come. I don’t get it why in the US it should take 15! years! to replace outdated technology.
And yes, at CT scanners everything stays in your hand luggage.
The US has 483 international airports. Germany has 36, and only 2 of them matter.
According to the Delta fanboys and East Coast twats, the US has 483 international airports, and only two of them matter: JFK and ATL.
It would be great if they could find a way around the whole taking your shoes off procedure. It’s 2024 other countries don’t make you take your shoes off. TSA need to dump this outdated rule.
I'm regularily flying out of Munich where they still have both, the new CT and the old tech. And the new CT is so much better in terms of time, but mainly because of the fact that nothing - no laptops, no liquids - has to be removed. And just because of this it flows much faster.
Everyone is missing the whole point again, even TSA.
I've observed countless times.
The problem is you have so many types of configurations and you don't let passengers know which is which.
Each airport is different. Even same airport have different lanes.
First Class, Elite, PreCheck, CLEAR
Do you take this off.
Do you leave it on.
Bin or no bin.
Dogs, Strollers, TSA Dogs.
Etc.
It gets...
Everyone is missing the whole point again, even TSA.
I've observed countless times.
The problem is you have so many types of configurations and you don't let passengers know which is which.
Each airport is different. Even same airport have different lanes.
First Class, Elite, PreCheck, CLEAR
Do you take this off.
Do you leave it on.
Bin or no bin.
Dogs, Strollers, TSA Dogs.
Etc.
It gets very confusing and people makes mistakes all the time.
I don't expect people who flies twice a year to know exactly what to do, but these are the people slowing everyone down at security.
Then the consequences of the line lottery. You get stuck when 10 people ahead of you gets their bag pulled for secondary. When the line next to you have none and the secondary agent on that line is just doing nothing.
I do expect TSA to be more ...., actually I can't. They are what they are.
You can't even see the low hanging fruit that can be done today.
I don't think those scanners in 2040 would help anything if you're trying to fix a 2020 problem in 2040.
This is the biggest problem: the procedures are different all the time. The people behind you are impatient and you’re trying to guess: shoes on or off, what about the iPad, the jacket, the phone and the passport. Meanwhile the TSA people are yelling at everyone, “shoes off! Everything out of your pockets! You, back there, take off your belt.” It’s an awful experience, and has there ever been another shoe bomber since 1973?
One of the worst in the world is Terminal 5 at Heathrow. They yell at you, scream at you if God Forbid you have a 50ml mouthwash in the Bag Pack.
Indeed, the new bottleneck in the screening process is the scanner and no longer the passengers unpacking and packing their bags.
However, I prefer calmly waiting for my bag to make it through, rather than hectically taking out half of my belongings and putting in the other half (e.g., wallet). Agree, in the US with TSA pre, it is the best of the two worlds.
I thought these new Croissant scanners would be a game changer , but seems like more of the same
Lmao, it's hilarious that it's 2024 and this rule is still in place with liquids.
Meanwhile, Real ID compliance is the current initiative of TSA. Laughable at best.
The security theatre of the TSA.
I know right? The other option, no screening whatsoever, is far better.
Or not.
Silliest comment of the day
This is the equivalent to a Tim dunce post
I agree w/ Ben that it is inexcusable that the US isn't even trying to improve the passenger experience and intends to maintain the ridiculous systems that do nothing to address the real threats to aviation which has nothing to do with little bags of liquid.
The fact that the UK and other countries can figure out how to harness the power of technology.
Perhaps we might get a changing of the guard on January 21 that will be capable of seeing things differently.
What do you reckon Kamala will do differently?
let me add my voice to the chorus of people totally unsurprised Tim Dunn supports trump
As if a sociopathic malignant narcissistic who's probably never flown commercial in his life would care about this issue. He doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself. Not his wife, not his children, not his supporters, nobody.
If you think Trump is gonna change the TSA if he gets re-elected, why didn’t he do it in his first term?
I read from this that Tim Dunn is a Harris/Walz supporter.
To be honest it doesn’t bother me. I’m so used to it now. It’s only a pain if you travel and want to buy/ bring liquids ( perfume, wine, balsamic vinegar etc) and then need a checked bag.
TSA, an endless jobs program.
I don't mind the bin system, although it's normally the opposite experience for me if you're at the back. The bins from the furthest stations get accepted first. If you're closest to the x-ray machine, there's a constantly flow of bins so you need the screener assisting with the process to manually hold back the bins so you can push yours into the flow.
I don't think it's that much faster since the limiting...
I don't mind the bin system, although it's normally the opposite experience for me if you're at the back. The bins from the furthest stations get accepted first. If you're closest to the x-ray machine, there's a constantly flow of bins so you need the screener assisting with the process to manually hold back the bins so you can push yours into the flow.
I don't think it's that much faster since the limiting speed is the x-ray machine (they're kept busy either way), but it definitely lets you go around those who need more time.
The 100ml per item limit is no big deal for me.
And in PreCheck lanes I don’t even bother bagging everything together. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked to take out liquids. I’m pretty sure they’d all fit in a quart bag, so maybe “close enough” is good enough for them.
The UK, where they require everything out, is my biggest hassle location.
By 2040, I will be flying fully private.
You can too. My life/career tips for young people:
1. Disregard all career advice for normies. Every job sucks. So, might as well focus on the money. For the average person, biglaw is the best path to wealth. T14 -> V10 partner. PPP at top firms (aka average partner pay) is $10 million. For the smart person (if you made it to at least the USAMO in high school), get an MIT PhD and become...
You can too. My life/career tips for young people:
1. Disregard all career advice for normies. Every job sucks. So, might as well focus on the money. For the average person, biglaw is the best path to wealth. T14 -> V10 partner. PPP at top firms (aka average partner pay) is $10 million. For the smart person (if you made it to at least the USAMO in high school), get an MIT PhD and become a quant. Fresh PhD pay right now is $1 million guaranteed. With some luck in the performance of your models, you could be making the same $10 million as a Wachtell partner, but working 40 hours a week while wearing athleisure the whole time. You could even make $100 million. You have a viable path to being a billionaire.
2. There is no number 2. Actually there is. Eat healthy—Mediterranean diet, no fried or sugary foods, high fiber and water intake. Stay active and fit. Prioritize adequate sleep. Make friends with top people, not normies (or worse, losers). Practice stoicism. Practice self-confidence. Practice charisma. Get married before age 30.
3. Start an OnlyFans page. Sell feet pics and show how GLP-1 drugs have transformed your body from an obese mess to an anorexic supermodel.
4. Wait for professional athletes to slide into your DM's. Accept gifts, rinse and repeat until you have 3 Range Rover's and 4 condos in Miami.
hahaha way to lean into all the hate on the other post. love it
you all are forgetting the obvious #5, which is only ever fly Delta
Who thought of that brand name for the scanner....Anal Logic?
Why can’t they run a trial where they allow liquids out of some airports with all CT scanners (like IND)
CT scanners are great for use in regular screening lanes. However in my opinion they should not be used in pre-check. Always boggled me when airports (like ATL) changed all the pre-check lanes to CT scanners but IND at first changed the regular lanes so no one had to take anything out and then changed the pre-check lanes so its all CT scanners
My guess is that this is a ploy to get increased funding. There will be protests by Congress people, and TSA will say they don't have the budget for it, hint hint.
I actually find the mandatory bins to be fairly useful since I can just dump my pocket items into the bin alongside my bag and not have to bother to stash them inside the bag (and then get them out on the other side) or hunt for the often-limited number of small-item trays.
They have the mandatory bins in other countries I've been to and it really does take A LOT longer, because you usually can't pile things into bins, each bag has to have its own bin and each bin takes up so much more space, so my suitcase is one bin, my bag is one bin, and then everything else is one bin, so I have 3 large bins and they are massive bins, and it...
They have the mandatory bins in other countries I've been to and it really does take A LOT longer, because you usually can't pile things into bins, each bag has to have its own bin and each bin takes up so much more space, so my suitcase is one bin, my bag is one bin, and then everything else is one bin, so I have 3 large bins and they are massive bins, and it just takes forever because the conveyor is so much slower than the regular process, and inevitably another bin makes its way in between one of yours so you have to wait for an opening for your bins, so by this time they all get separated, and what takes literally 1 minutes at a US airport now is 5 or more minutes at a foreign airport (multiply that by hundreds of passengers). And that's JUST for the part where you get your stuff on the belt to get it into the machine, that's not any other part of the security process. These are the tubs that we have now in the US. these are really big probably 36x36 bins (maybe 30x30 or 24x24, but they are definitely significantly bigger than the bins we use here in the US currently).
This has been my experience at least, and it's super frustrating and time consuming when you are used to just breezing through security in a few minutes and suddenly it's now 30-60 minutes (because the line now takes forever just to get to the conveyor belt).
20240 is a long, long, long time.
@ Ray -- Fixed, thank you. Whoops!