Liquid Restrictions to be Lifted at UK Airports     

3rd November 2010

Technology to lift liquid restrictions at UK Airports

Restrictions on liquids being carried in hand luggage by passengers on flights across Europe are to set to end, thanks to successful tests on an anti-terror bottle scanner at Manchester Airport.

The multi-million pound machines,which were trialed last year,  can tell the difference between water and liquid explosives, and have been approved by the European Union.The Kromek scanners scan the barcodes of bottles, and by employing x ray methods, identify what contents should be inside.

If the roll out is a success, they could be introduced into every airport across the EU early next year.

Restrictions on passengers carrying liquids, gels and pastes in hand luggage will hopefully be lifted around April 2011, as long as the scanners are in place.

At present, holidaymakers can only carry liquids in containers with a 100ml maximum capacity in their hand luggage. The restrictions were introduced in August 2006 following failed bomb plots.

Three Britons were jailed for life last year for their part in the plan to attack at least seven planes using exposive liquids which were carried in drinks bottles. 

Kromek was developed by British scientists. Its chief executive Arnab Basu said: “To be named by EU regulators as an authorised provider of a revolutionary solution to one of the greatest threats to civil aviation currently is a major moment in Kromek's history.

A spokesperson for Kromek stated that it was a major step towards fighting terrorism where liquid is an increasingly common tool for terrorist use.It is not the first time that Manchester has led the way in international aviation security.

Last November, Manchester Airport were the first to employ a  ‘naked’ full-body scanner, which uses X-ray technology to show up hidden explosives. It was trialed in Terminal Two and proved so successful , that the machines are now being installed on Airports all over the world.