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UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

bbc.co.uk

111–120 of 252 posts

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's been dozens of hijackings since 9/11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_hijackings#20...

To be fair there's been a lot less hijackings in the 2000s and 2010s compared with previous decades - although as the decline started in the 90's - its not likely to be solely due to increased security.

It has to do with several things, among them you have:

- the end of the cold war, with the clear hegemony of the US which halted state-sponsored terrorism from unaligned-but-socialist-minded countries (especially Libya)

- targeted assassination of terrorist leaders and infrastructures (no more training summer camps) no matter the country they are in (mostly through drones nowadays), leading to a progressive reduction in sophistication in terror attacks committed, and the rise of lone wolfs instead of structured terrorist commandos.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be a sample size of one and whatnot, but as a European, the best security experience I've had has been in the US (LAX), by far. In my neck of the woods, I have to take out basically everything from my carry-on. Laptop, camera, lenses, you name it, they want it out. Phone, keys, ditto. They usually ask for the belt to come out, too, and sometimes even the shoes. And this is even for internal flights. LAX, by co…

at Munich airport, at one of terminals they have new devices. You have to leave everything inside. Laptop, water etc. You just have to remove items from your pockets, belt. So much faster. My worst experience was in UK, multiple times, at Manchester airport. So much drama there.

Manchester airport is weird and frankly discriminatory. There's two security areas, and one has all the middle eastern airlines and in my experience the staff are way more short with customers in that security area than the other.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#113

There's a photo of the new 3d scanners here (they remind me of a jet engine). https://www.finavia.fi/en/newsroom/2022/new-technology-makes...

Just flew out of Memphis and these (or something very similar) were amazing, it felt archaic flying back and doing it the other way. Security time was a few seconds. Now if I can skip the shoes part...

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#114
The Helsinki airport eliminated the liquid rule last year. It also applies to electronics, they can stay in the bag. And of course shoes stay on (European airports never did this particular bit of post-9/11 security theatre).

After experiencing how easy it can be, traveling from the US feels like a special hell with the multi-stage papers checks and endless lines and shoeless security dances.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#115
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had cheese confiscated in Brussels “because we can’t tell the difference with C4 on the machine” I suspect they just fancied a nice lunch. Meanwhile I’ve flown a few times with a forgotten pocket knife in my carry on and more than 100mL of water. Nobody died and the plane landed safely at destination.

Now that's understandable. A lot of explosives are organic compounds (as in organic chemistry), just like food. And chocolate will have better energy density than most of them (not having to bring the oxydizer)

We’ll never know. It also clearly smelled like cheese. Anyway, I avoid flying as much as I can because it’s an exercise in frustration.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#116
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were dozens of terror attacks against air travel in the 80s and 90s. The global post-9/11 "security theater" did make flying in the developing world much safer.

Really? So that’s attributable to us not carrying bottles of water and to us taking our shoes off?

Yes, everyone knows that terrorists can't take off their shoes.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#117
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First rule at Ben Gurion is "don't be Arab" though. So maybe their "alternative approach" works for you, but it does have some downsides.

I think unlike the rest of the world, the Israeli's actually know they are actively being targeted. It's not a hypothetical. Politics aside, Palestinians match the Arabian profile and are an active threat. That really sucks if you are completely innocent and ethnically Arab and happen to travel that way of course but it is what it is. They simply are not going to take any chances. It's unfair, probably racist, and it…

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Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#118
post #100
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The term you're looking for is security theatre

Yup. It's baffling how quickly the mask and travel check measures were dropped, even at a time when COVID was causing multiple airliners worth of deaths per day, while the totally pointless liquid bans remain. The liquid bomb threat really is the thing that conspiracy theorists would love: it's a totally made up possible threat by the Big State that hasn't been seen in the wild and is used to justify inconveniencing…

> The liquid bomb threat really is the thing that conspiracy theorists would love: it's a totally made up possible threat by the Big State that hasn't been seen in the wild

Incorrect. Betwee 2006 and 2010, seven people were convicted in the uk for conspiring to attack passenger airplanes with liquid explosives (acetone peroxide according to wikipedia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_transatlantic_aircraft_pl...

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#119
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even at airports where you have to take things out, there are ways of making it work. Big, clear signs in multiple languages/with pictures showing what you have to do, lots of "work surfaces" to reorganise your bag without blocking the queue behind you, staff that are there to help not just to bark at you, etc.

When I',m flying to UK I always wonder if there are so many first timers, or people are so ignorant. In Germany I never seen so many people have to open the bags after the scan, and have them re-scanned.

This is the reason I opt to pay for TSA PreCheck (in the US, obviously). Not because it saves hassle (though it certainly does that), but because it pretty effectively filters out first timers.

Re: UK airport scraps 100ml liquid rule with new scanners

#120
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. It's baffling how quickly the mask and travel check measures were dropped, even at a time when COVID was causing multiple airliners worth of deaths per day, while the totally pointless liquid bans remain. The liquid bomb threat really is the thing that conspiracy theorists would love: it's a totally made up possible threat by the Big State that hasn't been seen in the wild and is used to justify inconveniencing…

> The liquid bomb threat really is the thing that conspiracy theorists would love: it's a totally made up possible threat by the Big State that hasn't been seen in the wild Incorrect. Betwee 2006 and 2010, seven people were convicted in the uk for conspiring to attack passenger airplanes with liquid explosives (acetone peroxide according to wikipedia). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_transatlantic_aircraft_pl...

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