For well over 15 years now, we’ve been accustomed to limits on liquids in carry-on bags when traveling by air. In late 2022, the UK government announced plans to overhaul airport security and eliminate the liquids restriction. While the plan was initially for this to take effect as of June 2024, unfortunately there has been a delay, so I wanted to cover all the details.
UK plans to overhaul airport security by 2025
The UK is planning the biggest shake-up to airport security rules in the country in decades:
- Travelers will no longer be limited to 100ml liquid containers, but rather that limit will be increased to two liter containers
- Travelers will no longer have to take large electronics (like tablets and laptops) out of their bags at security
This is happening, thanks to the introduction of new technology at security checkpoints in the UK, intended to both improve security (staff will have more detailed images of what people are carrying) and the passenger experience (travelers won’t have to take things out of their bags anymore).
This new technology has been trialed at airports since 2018, and has demonstrated the effectiveness of the new screening equipment, which uses CT X-ray technology to essentially provide a 3D image of what’s in the bags of passengers. It also deploys advanced threat detection algorithms.
Unfortunately there’s bad news when it comes to this actually being implemented:
- In late 2022, it was announced that all UK airports would have this technology by June 2024, but unfortunately that’s delayed
- The new plan is for all UK airports to have this technology by 2025, though we don’t have a more exact timeline beyond that
Two UK airports — London City Airport (LCY) and Teesside Airport (MME) — have already eliminated liquids restrictions, so you can take larger liquids through security at those airports. However, just keep in mind that this policy doesn’t apply at other airports, so this is of limited use if you’re planning on traveling with liquids in both directions.
What’s causing the delay in this being implemented?
The delay in the liquids restrictions being lifted is due to not all UK airports having the new technology yet. It’s worth noting that this had already been significantly delayed prior to the June 2024 timeline.
The UK government initially planned to introduce this technology at all airports by 2022 (without explicitly stating that liquids restrictions would end), but that didn’t end up happening. In fairness, the pandemic caused many things to be put on hold.
The problem seems to be that some major airports in the UK are struggling to actually take the time to install this technology. After all, you have to shut down security checkpoints to install the new scanners, and it can be hard for airports to do that while still managing their regular operations.
On top of that, staff have to be trained on using the new machines, and that’s also a time consuming process, especially given the labor shortage that existed for some time.
Will other countries follow the UK’s lead?
Airport liquid restrictions started to be put in place around the globe in 2006, following a terrorist threat. These rules have been intended to stop those with liquid explosives. As we’ve become accustomed to, once restrictions are put in place, they’re seemingly never lifted.
So it’s exciting to see that the UK does plan to lead the way in lifting restrictions on liquids, even if the implementation is delayed. I think the big question is whether other countries will follow. The same technology is being used to some extent in the United States and the Netherlands, but last I’ve heard, there are no formal plans to end liquid bans in either of those countries.
With that in mind, I’m curious to see how this plays out:
- On the one hand, countries do tend to match one another when it comes to aviation security policies
- On the other hand, it’s unlikely this new technology will be adopted consistently globally by 2025
- The United States seems to very much take the approach of keeping the status quo unless there’s a major reason to change it, and for that reason I’m skeptical of whether we’ll see something similar in the United States
Personally, I could see some individual countries starting to lift liquids restrictions, but I wouldn’t expect that with any consistency, unfortunately, and I also wouldn’t expect it in the United States anytime soon.
Bottom line
The UK will be radically changing airport security policies, thanks to new scanning technology. Specifically, passengers will no longer have to remove laptops or tablets from their bags, and liquids in containers of up to two liters will be allowed through security.
Unfortunately the implementation of this has been delayed, though — the new rules were supposed to apply as of June 2024, but this has now been pushed back to 2025, due to not all airports having the new scanners yet. I imagine that we could see an additional delay even beyond that… only time will tell.
This is really exciting, so here’s to hoping we see a similar policy in more countries. My gosh, I’m going to feel so scandalous going through security with a bottle of water…
What do you make of this airport security policy change, and do you think other countries will follow?
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