New computed tomography (CT) scanners are coming to JFK’s Terminal 8 and Heathrow airports. The new machines may mean the end of liquid restrictions for passenger carry-ons, reports Meredith Carey in CondeNast Traveler. Phoenix, Boston and Dubai are testing new screening devices too.
Liquids have been required to be carried in clear, quart-sized, plastic bags and removed from cases during security screening for 12 years now, due to terrorist attempts. While liquids will still have to be in bottles of under 3.4 ounces, at airports with CT screening, you will not need to remove them from suitcases during screening. For the present, travelers are still advised to pack liquids in a clear, quart-sized, plastic bag.
The difficulty is the cost of the machines, which cost roughly $300,000 apiece. The US would need more than 2,000 of the scanners.
“We think in perhaps five years or so, the passengers won’t have to take anything out of their carry-on bags,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske told CBS.
