In response to a technical issue, the Europe Commission (EC) has temporarily enforced restrictions on liquid screening at certain airports in the EU as well as Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway, using Explosive Detection Systems for Cabin Baggage (EDSCB).
Passengers travelling through airports that had installed these systems, also known as C3 scanners, were able to carry liquid containers exceeding 100ml. However, from 1 September 2024, this will revert to the standard 100ml for airports operating this equipment. No timeline has been put in place as to when this restriction will be lifted.
The EC has underlined this reinforcement of temporary restrictions on liquids is not due to any threat but addresses a temporary technical issue. A statement from airport trade body ACI Europe said the new restriction “erases the main benefit accruing to passengers from C3 scanners.” This amendment will also reduce the passenger throughput of security checkpoints at airports that have deployed these scanners. “It will result in significant operational strain, the mitigation of which will require the deployment of additional staff and the reconfiguration of security checkpoints, where feasible.”
Airports that have invested in the new scanning equipment are now at a disadvantage with the cost of these C3 scanners on average eight times more expensive than the conventional x-ray screening machines they are replacing, while operating costs are said to be four times higher.
Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe’s Director General, commented that while security is non-negotiable and all airports will comply fully with the new restriction, “the fact remains that those airports which have been early adopters of this new technology are being heavily penalised both operationally and financially. They had taken the decision to invest and deploy C3 scanners in good faith, based on the EU having greenlighted this equipment without any restriction attached.”
Adding that the new restrictions questions the confidence the industry can place in the current EU certification system for safety equipment he added: “We need to draw the lessons from this situation and make sure the EU certification system provides the necessary legal certainty and operational stability moving forward.”
While the restrictions for airports in the EU will take effect from September, the UK’s Department for Transport reintroduced the 100ml limit for airports across the country in June. Although some airports, including Birmingham, East Midlands and London City had rolled out the new equipment in line with the original June deadline, some of the bigger hubs such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester had been granted an extension until summer 2025 to install the equipment.
