Millions of air passengers face at least two more years of travel disruption under European commission proposals to deal with security issues raised by the carrying of liquids after the trans-Atlantic bomb plot.
A ban on carrying liquids in hand luggage will be lifted in 2012 for airports handling more than 10 million passengers a year, with smaller airports waiting until 2014, sources close to European security officials said. That would mean a family traveling from Stansted airport to Barcelona-Girona in Spain from 2012 would be able to carry as much drink, shampoo and perfume as they wanted on the outbound journey, but would have to dump or check in the liquids on the return leg.
“We believe that having one rule for passengers departing large airports and another rule for passengers leaving smaller airports is bound to cause confusion and uncertainty for the travelling public,” said Stephen Hogan, European director of government affairs at Rapiscan, an airport scanner manufacturer.
If the proposals are accepted, many of Britain’s major airports will be able to ease restrictions from 2012, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.
Airports such as Edinburgh, Liverpool and East Midlands, which handle fewer than 10 million passengers a year, will order passengers to dump large liquid containers at security checkpoints until 2014.
However, small airports can join their larger peers in lifting restrictions in 2012 if they buy approved scanners that can detect suspect liquids.
Aviation industry sources said the option to lift restrictions earlier than 2014 for smaller airports was likely to sow more confusion among passengers, because some airports will still wait until the latest possible date before installing equipment that will cost millions of pounds.
Transfer passengers from non-EU countries will be allowed to carry liquids on to internal flights from next April, ending a restriction that has seen the impounding of duty free goods carried by visitors at checkpoints for connecting travelers.
The proposals were discussed at a meeting in Brussels last week of security officials from EU member states and will be subject to further consultation before being put to the European parliament.
The parliament has asked the commission to draft new guidelines by April 30, when current regulations expire.
Tough security guidelines were first introduced in the UK when the liquid bomb plot was foiled in 2006, limiting passengers to carrying liquids in containers with a capacity no greater than 100 milliliters. The restrictions have forced UK airports to spend at least US$160 million on enhanced security and passengers have suffered from lengthy security lines and loss of possessions.
Technology companies have urged the commission to lift restrictions following live scanner trials with machines capable of detecting suspect liquids. One machine already in use at Heathrow and other major airports, the aTix scanner, only requires a software upgrade to be capable of detecting liquid bombs.
“The technology exists. It is not unproven and it is not untested. There is no reason, from a technology perspective, not to remove the ban,” Hogan said.
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