Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that 3D cabin baggage screening equipment is to be in use at all major UK airports by 2022.
According to the UK government, this could mean that in future passengers may be able to keep liquids and electrical equipment, like laptops, in their cabin baggage while it is screened. Once in place, the 100ml liquid limit may no longer apply and passengers could take liquids through security.
However, passengers will be required to continue to remove laptops and liquids from their cabin bags for security screening until the equipment has been introduced. It will be rolled out over the next few years, with the Department for Transport requiring all major UK airports to have it in place by December 1, 2022.
Grant Shapps, UK Transport Secretary, said, “The new screening equipment will improve security and make the experience smoother and less stressful for passengers. It could also mean an end to passengers having to use plastic bags or rationing what they take away with them.”
Heathrow Airport is currently trialling the new 3D equipment.
“We’re proud to be at the forefront of this new-generation security equipment. This technology will transform the passenger experience, making air travel simple, streamlined and more secure,” said Heathrow CEO John Holland Kaye.