Actually, from June 2024, only modern CT scanners should be used at airports in the United Kingdom to check hand luggage. Actually, we are still a long way from this goal, as some airports are implementing the change rather slowly.

In Europe, the classic devices in which liquids, laptops, tablet PCs and similar items have to be removed from hand luggage and placed separately in a box for screening are still dominant in Europe. Some airports have already completely switched to CT technology, others are in a transition phase and then there are some, for example Vienna-Schwechat, that do not yet have a single such device.

Bratislava switched to modern CT scanners a long time ago. In Germany, individual lines in Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt am Main, among others, have already been converted, but not all of them yet. The new technology has a decisive advantage for passengers: laptops etc. no longer have to be unpacked and the annoying liquid restrictions no longer apply.

The United Kingdom actually wanted to become a pioneer in Europe, because it was the first country to want to completely abolish the European liquid regulations, which, mind you, they invented themselves and were subsequently adopted throughout the EU at the time, in June 2024. Since the airports did not take care of the procurement of the necessary control devices in time and are now faced with the fact that sufficient supplies simply cannot be delivered by June 2024, the project is turning into a flop - at least for the time being.

The UK Department for Transport now has to bow to reality and is granting operators transition periods. Upon request, they can continue to use their old technology, but always for a limited period of one year. Disadvantage: Old devices mean that liquid restrictions still apply and laptops etc. still have to be unpacked.

This now leads to situations similar to those in Germany: It all depends on which airport and which Siko line you use. If there are already new CT scanners, the liquid regulations do not apply. If old technology is still in use, then the 100 milliliter rule applies, including the famous resealable one-liter bag. However, the “chaos” could possibly be avoided because the “old rules” are still firmly anchored in the minds of many passengers, so it comes as a surprise to quite a few people that, with the new technology, drinks are also bought in front of the Siko , shower gels etc. can be taken with you.