Almost one in 5 luggage that went via safety at Birmingham Airport failed the brand new 100ml liquid rule right now sparking chaos that noticed passengers caught in hellishly lengthy queues.
Many UK air passengers are struggling to make sense of the principles round taking liquids via airport safety after a authorities U-turn on Sunday.
The Division for Transport quietly reintroduced restrictions that forestall folks from carrying liquids better than 100ml in cabin luggage at UK airports with next-generation scanners.
Birmingham Airport – that has launched the brand new ‘state-of-the-art’ scanners – has been criticised on social media as passengers have needed to wait hours to get via safety with big queues out the terminal doorways.
Nonetheless, right now the airport hit again, blaming the queues on the truth that 18 p.c of all luggage going via its ‘state-of-the-art’ safety corridor had been flagged as non-compliant, which added 20 minutes to every wait.
Pictured: Passengers queuing at Birmingham Airport on June 6
Many UK air passengers are struggling to make sense of the principles round taking liquids via airport safety after a authorities U-turn on Sunday
Birmingham Airport – that has launched new ‘state-of-the-art’ scanners – has been criticised on social media as passengers have needed to wait hours to get via safety
Bosses at Birmingham Airport additionally rejected passenger claims that the queues to enter the terminal topped two and a half hours – saying the delays had been 70 minutes at most.
A spokesperson for the airport instructed Birmingham Stay: ‘This morning at its peak, 18 per cent of all luggage going via safety had been non-compliant, which means that that they had liquids over 100ml in them.
When a bag is rejected by the scanner due to a liquid this may sometimes add as much as 20 minutes to every passenger’s journey time via safety.
‘Our most queue time was 70 minutes and undoubtedly not two and a half hours. Our out of doors queues, seen right now, are from ‘liquid verify stations which might be situated exterior the terminal.’
Confused? We’re not shocked. Right here we clarify all…
Presently – all UK airports are working the 100ml liquid rule, whatever the scanners in place.
However airports with new scanners have extra flexibility round how cabin luggage transfer via safety.
Many UK air passengers are struggling to make sense of the principles round taking liquids in hand baggage via airport safety as new scanners are rolled out. Presently, all UK airports are working a 100ml liquids rule – which means liquids might be positioned in hand baggage however should be break up into containers not exceeding 100ml
Lengthy queues have been forming at Birmingham Airport (above) – which has launched the brand new scanners – amid confusion over liquid restrictions
London Metropolis, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports, have all put in new 3D CT- (computed tomography) primarily based scanners in safety halls and had scrapped the 100ml rule. Because of their new know-how, passengers might convey as much as two litres of liquids in any bottle measurement in carry-on baggage and never take away them at safety.
Nonetheless, on June 9, these airports had been ordered to return to the 100ml liquid rule regardless of working the next-generation safety checkpoints (NGSC), which create a 3D picture of what’s inside passengers’ luggage, permitting them to higher determine objects.
Laptops and tablets, nevertheless, can stay in carry-on baggage.
Passengers ought to proceed to verify safety necessities with their departure airport earlier than travelling
A Division for Transport spokesperson
A Division for Transport spokesperson instructed MailOnline: ‘From Sunday 9 June, 2024, 100ml restrictions on liquids will quickly be reintroduced for passengers travelling from six regional airports the place Subsequent Technology Safety Checkpoints (NGSC) are in full operation.
‘This momentary transfer is to allow additional enhancements to be made to the brand new checkpoint methods and can solely have an effect on a small variety of passengers.
‘For many passengers, safety measures will stay unchanged.
‘Passengers ought to proceed to verify safety necessities with their departure airport earlier than travelling.’
Journey knowledgeable Nicky Kelvin examined out London Metropolis Airport’s ‘fancy’ new scanners in Might
A passenger is pictured strolling previous an explainer about baggage guidelines at London Metropolis airport, which has put in new scanners
Passengers who pack liquids in bottles of over 100ml will probably be topic to handbook checks on the airport and people gadgets will probably be susceptible to being discarded.
At airports with new scanners, whether or not travellers are required to pack their liquids in clear, plastic luggage, take away them from baggage or can pack a couple of litre of liquid in a number of containers is as much as the person airport, the Division for Transport confirmed to MailOnline Journey.
What in case you are travelling from a distinct airport than the six focused by the Division for Transport?
Plenty of the UK’s main airports have already put in a number of the new checkpoints in safety halls – nevertheless none have but modified their liquid guidelines.
London Stansted, Manchester and Edinburgh all have at the least a number of the new 3D-scanners in place. Nonetheless, as their new safety halls are incomplete and a few previous scanners nonetheless stay none have modified their liquid guidelines.
This implies it is best to nonetheless observe the 100ml rule, and different liquid restrictions, which were in place for the previous 18 years in any respect three airports.
London Gatwick, East Midlands Airport and London Heathrow haven’t but launched any new scanners and so their safety halls are unable to adjust to new restrictions and the 100ml rule stays in place for the foreseeable future.
So what occurred at Birmingham Airport?
The airport had put in the brand new scanners, however has been limiting liquids to 100ml ‘as a consequence of an impressive regulatory restriction’, Nick Barton, CEO, instructed the BBC.
The airport blames passengers for the lengthy queues, accusing them of incorrectly packing their luggage.
The issue was exacerbated, a supply instructed The Unbiased, by the brand new scanners misidentifying harmless gadgets, reminiscent of solar cream, as ‘threats’.
Why was the 100ml rule launched?
The 100ml rule was launched in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to explode planes flying from London to the US with home-made liquid bombs.
The restrictions required passengers to pack as much as one litre of liquids or much less in bottles of not more than 100ml.
Liquids, it was stipulated, needed to be sealed in a transparent, plastic bag and faraway from luggage earlier than being scanned at safety.
Because of Nicky Kelvin at The Factors Man for permission to run his scanner picture.
