Birmingham and Edinburgh have become the first UK airports to allow all passengers to carry containers larger than 100ml in their hand luggage.
They will both allow passengers to carry liquids in up to two-litre containers following an easing of restrictions by the Department for Transport for airports with new 3D scanners, which all airports were required to have in place by this summer.
Both Birmingham and Edinburgh now allow passengers to leave liquids and electronic items such as laptops in handbags as they pass through the scanners. There is no limit on the number of two-litre containers in each bag.
However, these are the only two airports to have lifted the 100ml liquids limit for all passengers, which was imposed at all airports in 2006.
Other airports have yet to announce when they will ease restrictions on liquids, although some no longer require passengers to remove liquids from their handbags at the scanners.
Also, Manchester Airport pointed out that the ‘vast majority’ of its passengers are screened by the new scanners, which allow them to leave containers of up to two litres in their hand-luggage, however, during busy times, the airport still uses some of its older scanners in Terminals 1 and 3.
Those that allow all passengers to leave liquids and electronics in their bags include Bristol, Gatwick, Leeds Bradford, Luton, Newcastle, Southend and Teesside. The latter was one of the first airports in the UK to install the next-generation 3D scanners.
While other UK airports continue to roll out the new scanners, the advice to passengers is to continue to place liquids and gels in small plastic bags and remove them from their hand luggage if requested to do so.
In Europe, the 100ml rule remains in place, so passengers travelling from Birmingham and Edinburgh airports need to be aware that they’ll have to pack larger containers in their check in bags for the return journey.
Manchester Airport pointed out that the ‘vast majority’ of its passengers are screened by the new scanners, which allow them to leave containers of up to two litres in their hand luggage, however, during busy times, the airport still uses some of its older scanners in Terminals 1 and 3.
A spokesperson for MAG, which owns Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands airports, said: “New security technology is already in use across all three of MAG’s airports, and the majority of passengers are screened with the new equipment.
“In accordance with Department for Transport guidance, passengers should continue to arrive at the airport prepared, and travel with liquids in containers no larger than 100ml in their hand baggage, unless advised otherwise.”
A spokesperson for AGS Airports, owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, said: “AGS Airports has invested £20 million in installing Next Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC), which are now fully operational across all three of our airports. Aberdeen was the first airport in Scotland to introduce the new scanners when it installed them in April 2024. This significant investment underscores our commitment to enhancing the passenger experience and streamlining security processes.
“The new technology means liquids and large electrical items, such as laptops, no longer need to be removed from passengers’ hand luggage. Passengers are requested to ensure that all liquids carried in cabin baggage do not exceed 100ml and check for latest advice from the airports they are travelling through.”
