As of September 1, 2024, airports across Europe have reintroduced the 100ml liquid limit for carry-on baggage. This reversal comes as a result of technical difficulties experienced with newly implemented CT X-ray scanners designed to relax the liquid restrictions. The advanced scanners, intended to allow passengers to carry larger volumes of liquids through security checks, have faced issues accurately screening certain liquid containers within hand luggage.
While the specifics of these technical problems remain undisclosed, reports suggest that the scanners have struggled to distinguish and properly scan specific types of liquid containers. The Airports Council International (ACI) confirms that approximately 350 of these new scanning machines are currently in use across 13 EU countries. Many of these countries were still in the testing phase and had not yet updated their liquid policies to reflect the use of the new scanners.
In the UK, plans were in place to phase out the 100ml limit by the end of 2024. Smaller airports, including London City, Teesside, Newcastle, Leeds-Bradford, Aberdeen, and Southend, had successfully implemented the new equipment and relaxed the liquid rules for passengers. However, larger airports like Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester missed the deadline for full implementation.
Following the delay, the Department for Transport (DfT) reinstated the 100ml liquid limit at the few UK airports where it had been temporarily lifted. As a result, all UK and EU airports are currently maintaining the 100ml limit. No clear timeline has been provided for when these restrictions might be eased, as further investigation into the technical issues with the scanners is needed.
