100ml liquids limit scrapped at Birmingham and Edinburgh airport security
Passengers warned ‘to check situation at their return airport’ as cabin baggage rules diverge
FrankLin
Nineteen years after aviation security was tightened with the so-called “100ml liquids rule”, two leading UK airports have scrapped the limit. Passengers using Birmingham and Edinburgh can keep all their belongings – including containers holding up to two litres – in a bag through the checkpoint.
But travellers are warned that the rules for their return journey are likely to be different.
In 2006, British detectives uncovered a terror plot to assemble explosives on board transatlantic aircraft from liquids carried in hand luggage.
A limit of 100ml on the size of containers of liquids, aerosols and gels (“LAGs”) was brought in hastily in 2006 as “a temporary measure”.
The aim is to replace the traditional X-ray machine at security checkpoints with medical-grade scanners that can analyse the molecular structure of the contents of a passenger’s bag and detect potential threats.
A series of government instructions was due to see all major UK airports fitted with the new equipment by June 2024. But some key hubs missed the deadline. At airports that were compliant, within days the 100ml limit was re-imposed because of concerns over the working of the new hardware and software.
At the time the Department for Transport (DfT) said it was a “temporary move” to “enable further improvements to be made to the new checkpoint systems”.
Ahead of the summer rush of 2025, almost every security lane at UK airports is equipped with new kit. Passengers are able to keep liquids and laptops in their cabin bags, potentially accelerating the security check while making it less intrusive.
But the 100ml LAGs limit has applied until this month. Now, airports whose security protocols are signed off by the DfT can drop the 100ml limit.
A spokesperson for the department said: “Some airports are rolling out new technology that will allow liquid containers up to two litres to be taken through security in hand luggage.
“As this will be happening at different times at UK airports, passengers should continue to check security requirements with airports before they travel and come prepared with liquids in containers no larger than 100 ml in hand baggage unless advised otherwise.”
So far only Birmingham and Edinburgh have been approved. At the West Midlands airport, passengers are urged not to put “liquids, pastes and gels into plastic bags”, being told instead to “leave them loose in hand luggage”.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of the Scottish capital’s airport, said: “A whole generation of travellers have only known the 100ml rule to be the case, so it really is a momentous day as we become the first airport in Scotland to lift the rule since it was introduced in 2006.
“The change allows more flexibility for passengers to take liquids through security, all while maintaining and improving our high safety levels through the use of 3D technology. But it is important that passengers continue to check with the situation at their return airport as not all airports will be moving away from 100ml just yet.”
Edinburgh and Birmingham airports are respectively sixth and seventh busiest in the UK, and are expected to handle more than 27 million passengers this year between them.
Airports such as Aberdeen, Bristol, London City, Newcastle and Teesside are expected to make changes soon. But London Heathrow and Manchester are believed to be keeping some old-style X-ray machines in service. At Manchester, Terminal 3 is due to be demolished and therefore it would be wasteful to install new kit. Rather than having different rules for different terminals, the 100ml standard is being kept in place.
The European Union and wider Schengen Area also reverted to the “old” rules at all airports from 1 September 2024, following concerns about the new equipment installed at some airports.
