To the joy of early morning Zurich and Frankfurt-bound travellers, London City Airport announced last year that it had ditched the 100ml airport liquid rule.
The proposed roll-out of new, next-gen scanners (that also let passengers leave large electronic devices like laptops in their bags) suggested an end was in sight to the frantic pre-security rush.
A number of other UK and European airports followed suit and announced their own timetables for the rollout. The technology was expected to be widely used in 2024.
Not so. From today, Europe’s hubs will reinstate the strict 100ml airport liquid rules due to a “temporary technical issue” with the CT scanners.
It follows a similar U-turn from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in June, which was tied to separate concerns over the scanners’ effectiveness.
What’s happening to the airport liquid rule?
The situation in the UK and Europe is different.
It was initially thought that all UK airports would ditch the liquid limit in June 2024.
However, the deadline was extended by 12 months in April under the former Conservative government.
Some airports, such as City, Teesside and Newcastle, had already dropped the limit but major hubs like Heathrow and Gatwick struggled in large part due to the scale of construction required to fit in the new CT scanners.
However, everything was thrown up in the air in June when the DfT ordered regional airports to temporarily reintroduce the limit so that “further improvements” could be made to the new checkpoint system. It was not a response to any specific threat.
The Airport Operators Association (AOA), which represents the UK’s hubs, was furious at the time.
Karen Dee, chief executive of trade body the Airport Operators Association, said the “surprise” announcement had been “sprung on us with very little time to react,” creating uncertainty for passengers “just as airports enter their busiest periods.”
Dee said hundreds of millions of pounds were being spent on a “huge” change programme, as the government instructed.
She said airports supported security decisions, but Friday’s “surprise” announcement “was sprung on us with very little time to react”, creating “uncertainty for passengers just as airports enter their busiest periods of the year.”
In Europe, airports have brought back the 100ml airport liquid rule because of what is understood to be a more specific issue.
The EU Commission has said its decision wasn’t “in response to any new threat” but rather a temporary technical problem.
The precise details of the hiccup have not been revealed, with the Commission’s statement only indicating that performance had not met the “standard for which it had been approved.”
The decision applies to all airports within the European Union and some outside. These include Iceland, Switzerland, Liechenstein and Norway.
There is no set deadline for when the limit will be ditched again.