Britain likely to lift curbs on carrying liquids in passengers’ cabin baggage

The government of the United Kingdom is planning to revoke the restrictions on liquids that airline passengers can carry in their cabin baggage as they fly in and out of Britain.

UK to change cabin baggage rules

The ban is expected to be lifted at some airports in Britain by the end of 2009, media reported said. Because of the new X-ray technology that can find out bomb-making ingredients in liquid form like hydrogen peroxide, change of rules could come about within 6-12 months, the Times newspaper of London reported.

The newspaper quoted a senior official in the British government as saying that the restrictions on liquids in cabin baggage would go “at a limited number of airports, possibly as soon as the autumn of 2009.”

“The restrictions will start to be removed in six months to one year’s time and passengers will be allowed to carry any size of bottle they like inside their hand luggage, just as they were before the summer of 2006,” the official said.

Airports “would have to demonstrate that they have invested in the technology, so it will not be a blanket lifting of the restrictions” and those airports owned by the British Airports Authority (BAA) would be involved in the trial since the BAA had already set up advanced threat-identification X-ray machines, the official added.

The X-ray machines, which cost over £100,000 apiece, would have the capacity, after a software upgrade, to distinguish between harmless liquids and potentially explosive liquids, the Times quoted the government official as explaining.

The advanced X-ray screening system was at present undergoing tests in Germany, the report said, adding that scientists were assessing its efficacy at identifying accurately liquids like hydrogen peroxide that could be developed into bombs.

The media quoted Philip Baum, the editor of Aviation Security magazine, as remarking that the British government’s move to lift the ban selectively on liquids in the aircraft cabin “would add to the widespread confusion among passengers about different security requirements in different countries.”

Baum added that “much greater harmonisation of security procedures” was needed and “any changes would have to be communicated very carefully to passengers since people might wrongly assume that the lifting of the ban applied to their airport.”

The ban on airline passengers carrying liquid in their cabin baggage was effected after an alleged conspiracy to use liquid explosives to blow up trans-Atlantic flights came to light in London in August 2006.

Following the incident, the United States, the United Kingdom and some other countries put restrictions on the volume of liquids that airline passengers can bring through checkpoints to 3 ounces carried in a one-quart plastic bag.

The ban led to millions of bottles of duty-free alcohol, toiletries and perfume bottles being confiscated even as passengers were confused about what they were allowed and not allowed to carry on board.

The restriction have also led to numerous complaints from passengers, especially because of the requirement that the plastic bag containing the liquid be sent separately through the X-ray screening, leading to slowing down of security lines.