A UK airport has eliminated the 100ml liquid limit through the use of high-tech scanners, which also allow electronics to be stored in hand luggage at security.
London City Airport has introduced technology that takes high-resolution 3D images of bags.
Travelers can now carry up to two liters of liquid, and toiletries no longer need to be placed in separate bags.
The government has given most UK airports a deadline of June 2024 to install the machines.
Passengers at other airports, with the exception of Teesside, which introduced new C3 scanners in March, are currently required to remove items such as tablets, laptops and liquids from carry-on baggage for security screening.
The current rules were introduced in November 2006, at the end of a ban on liquids in the cabin, when British police said they had foiled a plot to blow up up to 10 planes with explosives hidden in drinks.
- Airport security 100ml liquid rule to be scrapped
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London City Airport began trialling the new technology more than a year ago, and on Tuesday rolled out four of the new X-ray machines, which are similar to the CT scanners used in hospitals.
Chief Operating Officer Alison Fitzgerald said screening staff have been retrained to use the technology, which presents 3D images, and the public can rest assured that it is safe.
“The X-ray processing level is now even safer than before, and the machine can distinguish between a non-hazardous liquid and a hazardous liquid.”
The machine would still reject images it wasn’t happy with, she said, but it would allow staff to focus on potential threats while letting items like water, shampoo and perfume through.
It would also speed up the “door to gate” process with estimates of a 30 percent increase in passenger numbers, Ms Fitzgerald added.
“The whole process is quicker because you used to have to empty your bag and put it in multiple compartments, whereas now it’s a bag in a compartment and you don’t have to take everything out,” she said.
Which? Consumer expert Harry Kind said that while it was the “beginning of the end” of a system put in place 17 years ago, people should not assume it was a general rule change.
“It’s really important that passengers actually check what the rules are for the airports they’re flying from and flying to,” he said.
Above all, it should reduce waiting times. Many travelers have reported delays of up to an hour at security checkpoints, and in a recent issue of which? 7% of the survey said they missed a flight because of queues, Mr Kind added.
“This change will make a huge difference and reduce the number of people who miss flights and lose their vacations just because they have an oversized bottle of shampoo.”
London City Airport is already the fastest of any UK airport for security checks, averaging 12 minutes, he added.
The UK’s largest airports are gradually introducing next-generation technology.
Heathrow tested 3D scanners in 2017 and said the new machines, with more security lanes than any other airport, “would always be complex and take longer” to install.
Gatwick is currently testing 19 lanes of next-generation technology across its two terminals, but a spokesman said passengers should continue to follow all existing rules.
Other airports told the BBC they had no specific date for completion but would align with the government’s June 2024 deadline.
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