Heathrow International Airport has scrapped the 100 ml liquid container limit rule to allow passengers to carry two litres of liquid in containers in their bags while going through security. Passengers would no longer need to take liquids or electronics out of their hand luggage, or manage plastic bags at security. This rule applies to passengers who fly outside of the UK from Heathrow.
Heathrow changes the liquid limit:
The United Kingdom’s largest international airport, Heathrow, removed the liquid limitation and now allows passengers to carry up to two litres of liquid in containers.
Passengers flying from Heathrow can pack liquids in their cabin bag without the clear plastic bags. It comes into effect after installing new high-tech CT scanners in the airport. In addition, passengers can leave their electronics, such as laptops, in their bags. With the help of new scanners, the security officers can see everything inside the baggage clearly.
These new scanners enhance the airport’s safety and security standards. They can also check thousands of passengers in an hour with higher efficiency.
The rule change only applies to passengers leaving the UK from Heathrow. Passengers who are returning to the UK and leaving the UK from other airports must check the restrictions and rules of certain airports. After implementing the new CT scanners, Heathrow became the biggest airport in the world to have new high-tech CT scanners. Heathrow, in a press release, said:
“The £1bn upgrade has seen passenger security lanes across all four of Heathrow’s terminals replaced with state-of-the-art CT scanners, capable of servicing thousands of passengers an hour with significantly greater efficiency, while maintaining high safety and security standards.”
Though it is the biggest airport to possess high-tech scanners, it is not the UK’s first airport, as new technology scanners have been used in Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham in recent years, and they changed the liquid limit rule as well.
Timeline of CT scanner installation:
In 2019, Boris Johnson, the then-prime minister of the UK, announced that the 100 ml liquid limit would be removed by the end of 2022. But because of covid, it was delayed.
The conservative government promised in December 2022 that the high-tech CT scanners would be installed by June 2024, but the deadline was not achievable, and the government dropped their 100 ml liquid rule on the evening of Friday, June 13, 2024.
After a year and a half, the rule was scrapped at Heathrow airport. A Department for Transport spokesperson said,
“Heathrow is the latest UK airport to complete its rollout of next-generation security equipment for passengers, helping ensure security checks remain robust and can be completed smoothly.”
Among the world’s 10 busiest airports, Heathrow is the only airport to remove the 100 ml liquid limit rule.
Are you happy they are scrapping the liquid limit rule? What are the other rules you want to change? Let us know in the comments.
