Special report Liquid refreshment
Recent years have seen a quiet push take place across the air travel industry, implementing new 3D scanner systems that remove the requirement to restrict liquids over 100ml on fl ights. While this technology has been trialled at airports across the world, recent reports broke that the UK government is planning on these scanners being implemented nationwide by 2024. Nicholas Kenny looks into the history of the 100ml liquid restriction and the new scanning technology that could bring it to an end.
I
t happens to the best of us. Getting right up to the security lane, placing your carry-on in the tray and walking through the scanners, only for your luggage to be flagged and pulled aside. The reason? That can of deodorant you packed in a rush before heading out – well, it was more than the 100ml allowed. Alternatively, many are familiar with the struggle of removing your laptop and other electronics from an already-overstuffed bag, a Herculean task second only to the challenge of getting it back in without emptying everything out first. However, this scenario may soon be consigned to the past – in UK airports, at least. The UK government is considering a roll-out of high-tech 3D scanners across the nation by mid-2024, according to a BBC report in November. The equipment, similar to the computed tomography (CT) scanners used in hospitals, provides security staff with a clearer picture of a bag’s contents
compared with the conventional security X-ray machines that are currently in use. The current liquid restrictions have been in place for over 16 years, allowing passengers to carry liquid in containers of no more than 100ml, which must be shown to security staff in a single transparent and resealable plastic bag capable of holding no more than a litre and measuring roughly 20cm by 20cm.
These limits were first introduced across the globe in November 2006, ending a blanket ban on liquids in the cabin brought in during August of the same year, after British police uncovered a transatlantic plot to blow up as many as ten aircraft using explosives hidden in soft drinks bottles. Initially, no liquids at all could be brought in hand luggage – apart from baby milk, which had to be tasted by a parent in front of security staff – but these rules were eased when passenger numbers dropped significantly in response.
10
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
bsd studio/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
