EU to ease rules on duty-free liquids
A Reuters report says that airline passengers with transit connections in the European Union may no longer have to surrender bottles of alcohol or perfume purchased at non-EU airports under rules adopted by the EU executive on Tuesday.
Last year the EU limited air passengers to carrying small containers of liquids or gels in sealed plastic bags on board planes after British authorities said they had foiled an attempt to blow up aircraft using liquid explosives.
But duty-free items bought at airports outside the EU became a casualty of the new rules. Passengers who bought whiskey or other liquid items outside of Europe had to give them up when changing planes in the EU, even though the items would have been purchased after security checkpoints in the departure country.
The European Commission said the new measures would allow passengers to keep such products if they were purchased in countries with security standards that match those of the 27-nation EU.
The Commission will examine airport security standards in other countries, sometimes by sending EU experts to conduct inspections, and will then exempt passengers from handing over liquid products if their home countries make the grade.
A spokesman for Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the focus would initially be on nations with high numbers of passengers flying to the EU, such as the United States, Russia, and Singapore.
The Commission would verify especially that the “supply chain” at retail shops in non-European nations was safe.
“If the Commission considers the security measures applied by third countries in relation to liquids as equivalent and the country also applies satisfactory overall standards of aviation security, the Commission will decide to grant exemptions,” it said in a statement.
“The first decisions on exemptions are expected in the autumn of this year.”
The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC), which represents tax- and duty-free shops across Europe, welcomed the Commission’s announcement, which followed a decision by EU transport officials earlier this month.
“The priority is implementation. The Commission and key third countries must move as quickly as possible to begin the recognition process,” ETRC President Frank O’Connell said in a statement.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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