Travel, at the airport[/caption]
A HAND luggage rule change will “spark more delays and confusion” after two major UK airports lifted their restrictions.
Those jetting off from Birmingham and Edinburgh could face longer queues with both changing hand luggage rules in the past week.
Two major UK airports have made a hand luggage change[/caption]
Both airports have now lifted the 100ml liquid rule[/caption]
If you’re travelling from either airport, you can now take two litres of liquid in your cabin bags.
But all other UK airports will still have to follow the 100ml liquid restriction.
The same applies to most airports in continental Europe meaning Brits won’t be able to bring larger liquids back in their hand luggage.
But more airports could follow Birmingham and Edinburgh’s lead in the months to come.
However, this could mean longer waits to get through security as each will be able to set its own timescale in rolling out the rule change.
One airline source told The Times that the timing was “absurd and would inevitably cause extra queues and confusion this summer.”
They added: “Given most people don’t know about the change and just do 100ml anyway, it’s hard to follow the logic of allowing individual airports to have different rules for the busiest period of the year.”
The 100ml rule was first introduced nearly two decades ago in 2006.
It was implemented after a terror plot was discovered to blow up planes flying from London to the US with home-made liquid bombs.
The Department for Transport required all major airports to bring in next generation security checkpoints (NGSCs) by this summer.
The technology creates a 3D image of what’s inside a passenger’s bag which would allow airports to scrap the 100ml liquid rule.
It also ends the need for laptops and tablets to be removed from hand luggage.
These changes were first proposed in August 2019 but the rollout of the technology has been complicated.
Major airports were initially given a deadline of December 2022 to deploy the new scanners.
But after the aviation industry suffered huge disruption due to coronavirus travel restrictions in 2020, a new deadline was set for June 1, 2024.
Some smaller airports complied on time and The Sun reported last May that the 100ml rule was already a thing of the past in three UK airports.
Teeside Airport, London City Airport and Aberdeen International Airport all had their scanners installed ahead of the June deadline.
But larger airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester failed to do so.
They claimed that supply chain delays and construction difficulties caused by the weight of the machines were the reasons behind the delay.
But then, last June, the Department for Transport suddenly announced that the old 100ml liquid rule would be reinstated as a “temporary measure” before the blanket restriction was lifted in May this year.
Airports were then told that they could ease the rules once the scanners had been installed and approved.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, told MailOnline: “Removing the 100ml liquid rules for passengers is a positive step forward for air travel however having individual airports set their own timelines on lifting the 100ml restrictions on liquids is likely to cause confusion to travellers this summer and will result in delays.
“The slow rollout has already led to confusion and frustration and travellers are likely to be tripped up if the rules continue to change as short notice and vary for different airports.
“It is clear that all airports are not ready to introduce these new rules at the same time, and we would encourage all UK airports collectively to work with government to ensure there is very clear messaging around the rules, to avoid confusion and delays wherever possible.”
Birmingham announced last Wednesday that it was lifting the 100ml rule and Edinburgh did the same yesterday.
Edinburgh installed eight new top-of-the-range scanners as part of a £24 million investment to transform its security.
The first major Scottish airport to scrap the rule, Edinburgh now has eight security lanes, an increase of two after implementing the new scanners.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “This is a big day for our passengers and the airport team – we are delighted to be able to lift this rule and really transform the whole security process, making it easier for everyone.
“A whole generation of travellers have only known the 100ml rule to be the case, so it really is a momentous day as we become the first airport in Scotland to lift the rule since it was introduced in 2006.
“The change allows more flexibility for passengers to take liquids through security, all while maintaining and improving our high safety levels through the use of 3D technology.
“But it is important that passengers continue to check with the situation at their return airport as not all airports will be moving away from 100ml just yet.”
Passengers are urged to check which rules are in place for the airport they’re departing from before they travel.
