Sixteen years after its introduction, the restriction on the maximum volume of liquids in the hand luggage of airline passengers has been lifted for the first time by Shannon Airport in Ireland. The rule has been inconvenient for passengers since 2006, and repealing it in one place raises hopes that it will soon happen at other airports around the world.
Why did the rule for 100 ml of liquids appear?
An investigation in 2006 revealed that there were plans to blow up several planes over the Atlantic. All scheduled flights took off from London’s Heathrow Airport and flew to airports in North America. According to information revealed at the time by the British Guardian, the organizers of the attacks planned to import all the necessary ingredients for the explosive mechanisms, passing them through security checks. The liquid components were disguised as soft drink bottles, and the idea was to assemble and activate the explosive devices on board.
After the case became known, authorities at airports around the world imposed new restrictions on passengers’ hand luggage to thwart similar attempts in the future. One of these rules was the restriction that all liquids in hand luggage should be in packages of a maximum of 100 ml and placed in a separate transparent bag.
How is the repeal of the rule possible?
The answer is in the introduction of new technologies in the security clearance zone. Shannon Airport is investing $ 2.7 million in a new baggage scanning system that eliminates the need to place liquids in a transparent bag for inspection. The limit on the maximum volume of 100 ml of liquids has also been lifted, as the only condition for those traveling from this airport is that the liquids enter the hand luggage bag.
Now all items in hand luggage, including liquids and electronics, can be scanned and checked for explosive devices without passengers having to take them out of their luggage.
Will other airports follow suit?
Since the technology already exists and has been introduced at one airport, this is expected to gradually happen at other airports around the world.
Although it is not possible to predict a specific date in which this will become a reality, the British newspaper “Independent” said that by December 1, 2022, all major airports in Britain must have installed the new system.
