AIRPORTS could soon remove baggage scanners and make things much simpler for travellers.
Waiting to have luggage scanned, or queueing up to pass through metal detectors is one of the easiest ways to get held up while passing through an airport.
AlamyCurrently most passengers have to remove shoes, laptops and liquids[/caption]
However, new technology could make those delays a thing of the past, with airport chiefs keen to implement newer and less time consuming security checking methods.
Robert Sinclair, the boss of London City, said the he wants his airport to be at the forefront of the technology revolution.
He told the Telegraph that he wants to get rid of scanners and instead implement a much slicker system.
He said the future will see passengers walking “through a security lane carrying a bag behind you, and being scanned as you walk through” instead of having to put their bags through separate scanners.
The airport us currently trialling new scanners that don’t require passengers to remove laptops, tablets or liquids from their bags to be scanned individually.
Sinclair insists the scanners are very popular with those passing through his airport.
He continued: “Passengers love it. It’s the convenience, being able to leave everything, but it’s also the speed as well that you can actually get through.
“For us, it’s just a demonstration… of our focus on speed and convenience.”
The CT security scanners being used will need to be installed at every UK airport before the middle of 2024.
Passengers will be able to keep everything in their bags instead of being asked to remove laptops and ditch liquids over 100ml at screenings.
Luggage will then pass through the CT scanners which allows airport security to inspect bags from a 3D image, which will be a vast improvement from the 2D images currently used.
John Holland-Kay, boss of Heathrow airport, told The Times: “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 DFT.
“By then the normal passenger experience will be that liquids stay in bags”.
The new scanners also mean that travellers will no longer need to place liquids into a clear, plastic bag.
But until the changes come into play, anyone catching a flight from the UK will have to comply with current rules on liquids.
Restrictions on the size of liquids were put into place in 2006 after terror attack using liquid explosives was thwarted at Heathrow.
Trials of the technology began at the UKs largest airport in 2019 and are also taking place at Gatwick.
Despite the removal of the large liquids ban, other hand luggage restrictions will remain in place, including a ban on sharp objects.
It’s not just drinks that are banned either, there are also restrictions on certain food items at security.
GettyNew technology could remove the need for any luggage scanners[/caption] Read More