Minister says reintroduction of liquid restrictions at six airports ‘temporary’

Mark Harper said airline passengers should ‘check with their airport what the rules are’ on carrying liquids over 100ml.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said passengers should check with airports what the rules are (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

The reintroduction of restrictions on carrying liquids over 100ml at six regional airports in the UK is a “temporary measure”, according to the Transport Secretary.

The change will come into effect from midnight on Sunday and will affect passengers travelling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.

All of the airports have next generation security checkpoints (NGSC) in operation, which create a 3D image of what is inside passengers’ bags and had allowed them to scrap the rule.

The 100ml rule was introduced in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the US with home-made liquid bombs.

The announcement we’ve made, which comes into force from midnight tonight, actually only affects six regional airports and about 6% of those travelling

Transport Secretary Mark Harper

Mark Harper said airline passengers should “check with their airport what the rules are” on carrying liquids over 100ml amid some confusion over the restrictions.

He told BBC Breakfast on Saturday: “The announcement we’ve made, which comes into force from midnight tonight, actually only affects six regional airports and about 6% of those travelling.

“For most passengers, actually, the rules haven’t changed at all yet and won’t therefore change tonight. People should just check with their airport what the rules are or the processes are at a particular airport.

“We’ve reintroduced that rule while updates and changes are made to the scanning equipment at airports to make sure we can continue delivering our world-leading levels of aviation security.

“It’s a temporary measure and we’ll set out when that can be reversed in due course.”