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EU reintroduces 100ml liquid rule at Spanish airports
From September 1, passengers travelling through Spain and other EU airports will face hand luggage restrictions
For the last couple of years, we’ve been hearing about the end of restrictions on liquids in hand luggage, a nuisance that slows down the process of clearing airport security considerably. Madrid and Barcelona airports have already started using handy C3 scanners, and Málaga and Alicante were planning to roll them out between 2025 and 2026.
These scanners provide a 3D view of the inside of suitcases, meaning that passengers could carry larger sizes and didn’t have to remove their liquids or electronic devices at security checks.
Sadly, navigating airports is about to slow right down again as the EU has introduced a new regulation that will come into force on September 1, claiming that the high-tech C3 scanners aren’t powerful enough to detect dangerous items in luggage. The mobility and transport section of the official website of the European Union says the following:
“The EU Aviation Security Regulation imposes a general restriction at EU airports, limiting the access of liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) larger than 100 ml to the boarding areas. Exceptions are made for special diets, baby products and medicines.
“This restriction exists because traditional security equipment, such as X-ray machines, cannot effectively detect liquid explosives.”
So essentially, from next month, this measure will reintroduce the 100ml limit for individual containers of liquids, thus eliminating the main benefit that passengers obtained from C3 scanners.
But the move also represents a major blow to the airports themselves, which collectively invested millions in the state of the art equipment that will become obsolete in a couple of weeks.
The European airport trade association ACI Europe said the restriction will also reduce passenger flow at security checkpoints at airports that have implemented C3 scanners.
“This will cause significant operational strain, the mitigation of which will require the deployment of additional personnel and the reconfiguration of security checkpoints, where possible,” ACI Europe said.
Although the restriction is intended to be temporary, ACI Europe said there is “no timeline or process” in place for lifting it.
Image: Freepik
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