Passengers travelling from more than half a dozen UK airports face a rule change from today, affecting how much liquids they can carry in their hand luggage. A new Government Directed came into effect from 12.01am today, June 9, stating that passengers could carry no more than 100ml in liquids, pastes and gels in their hand luggage.
The directive was issued to airports nationwide wide. Birmingham Airport said this was a rule it had been complying with for months due to an outstanding regulatory approval on its new screening machines.
Meanwhile, six regional airports will be impacted by the changes, the the Department for Transport (DfT) has said. The change will affect passengers travelling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.
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All of the airports have Next Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC) in operation, which had allowed them to scrap the rule. The high-tech CT scanners create a 3D image of what is inside passengers’ bags. The 100ml rule was introduced in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the US with homemade liquid bombs.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “This temporary move is to enable further improvements to be made to the new checkpoint systems and will only affect a small number of passengers. For most passengers, security measures will remain unchanged. Passengers should continue to check security requirements with their departure airport before travelling.”
Nick Barton, chief executive officer of Birmingham Airport said: “The rules that we have been adhering to since March are now very clear in that only liquids, pastes and gels up to 100ml can be carried through in hand luggage. Since opening our new security area, and despite being one of the first UK airports to comply, we have been limited on the use of our multi-million-pound equipment due to an outstanding regulatory restriction meaning we had to limit liquids to 100ml.
“This rule has now been implemented nationwide. Despite the 100ml rule still being in place, we continually have non-compliant bags with liquids over the allowance which have led to inefficiencies of our equipment and resulted in extended queuing time for customers.
“It is now imperative that all customers comply with the nationwide rule to ensure a smoother and simpler transition through the airport. A non-compliant bag with liquids over 100ml can add up to 20 minutes to each passenger’s journey through security. All travelling customers should check their hand luggage to ensure it complies with this restriction.”