UK Considers Dropping Liquids in Luggage Rules by 2024

Airports in the United Kingdom are considering getting rid of the limitations and rules on liquids packed in luggage, as well as requirements for laptop computers, by 2024, the BBC reports.

It’s not an abandonment of the rules; instead, it would be an enhancement. Airports will instead transition to high-tech sensors similar to 3D CT scanners that provide a cleaner, clearer picture, a source told the BBC.

An official announcement is expected by Christmas.

Currently, passengers are allowed to bring liquids in their carry-on bags that total just 100 milliliters, or roughly 3.381 fluid ounces. The belief is that the enhanced technology will cut down on wait times at security, which as any travelers who passed through a London airport this year know was abysmal. Not only was luggage backed up like a literal mountain at Heathrow Airport at one point, but Delta Air Lines sent a jet with just a pilot and crew to London to retrieve passenger luggage.

The 3D scanners have been used on a trial basis at Heathrow, according to airport CEO John Holland-Kaye.

“We have just started the expansion of the security area in Terminal 3 which will have more CT scanners and have a deadline of mid-2024 from the [Department for Transport],” he told the Times of London. “By then the normal passenger experience will be that liquids stay in bags.”