CT scanners could ease airport security checks
Restrictions on liquids in hand luggage apply all over the world, not just the UK
Air passengers might no longer have to removed liquids from their hand luggage if trials of new scanners taking place at Heathrow Airport are a success.
Testing of the 3D X-ray machines is expected to take up to 12 months. They allow security staff to see items in passengers’ bags without them being removed and, crucially, they can detect explosives.
The Department for Transport told the BBC: "The UK has some of the strictest security measures in the world, and we are leading the way in using new technology to improve security screening and provide a better experience for passengers.
"If successful, this could lead in future to passengers no longer needing to remove items from hand luggage for screening."
In the meantime, the DfT said existing rules remain in place, meaning that containers of liquid in carry-on bags must hold no more than 100 ml of liquid and they must fit into a small, transparent, resealable plastic bag, which must be placed separately on a tray during re-flight security checks.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and New York’s JFK are understood to have already started testing the new computerised tomography CT scanners.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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