PASSENGERS travelling through Heathrow can now leave liquids in containers up to two litres in their hand luggage and keep laptops packed away, as Britain's busiest airport completed the installation of new CT security scanners across all four terminals on Friday (23).
The airport said it has become the largest in the world to fully roll out the technology, which uses high-resolution 3D imaging to check bags without requiring passengers to remove items or decant liquids into small plastic bags.
"Passengers can spend less time preparing for security and more time enjoying their journey," Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said of the £1 billion upgrade package.
The scanners, which can service thousands of passengers an hour, eliminate the need for travellers to extract shampoos, water bottles, tablets and laptops from their luggage during security checks—ending a 20-year-old restriction introduced in 2006 when police foiled a militant attack plot involving liquid explosives at Heathrow.
While Heathrow is the largest airport globally to complete the rollout, it is not the first in the UK. Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham airports have already upgraded to the scanners in recent years and increased to a two-litre limit.
Many airports worldwide are adopting the technology to speed up security, with facilities in New York, Hong Kong and Dubai among those implementing these systems.
The rollout across UK airports has faced repeated delays. Former prime minister Boris Johnson promised in 2019 that the 100ml liquid rule would be scrapped by the end of 2022, but the pandemic derailed those plans. The Tory government then set a June 2024 deadline for installation, but the biggest airports could not meet it.
Adding to the confusion, on the evening of June 13, 2024, the government ordered smaller airports that had already dropped the 100ml rule to reinstate it, triggering anger among operators. The EU also reverted to the 100ml limit in July that year, creating a period of inconsistency.
The rule change only applies to flights departing Heathrow, and passengers must check restrictions at their departure airports before returning to the UK.
Of the world's 10 busiest airports, Heathrow is now the only one to have eliminated the 100ml rule for liquid containers on international flights.
(with inputs from Reuters)
