The new scanners allow passengers to pass through airport security without removing liquids, laptops and other large electronic devices from their hand luggage, and also to carry up to two-litre vessels rather than the previous max of 100ml – a rule that has been in place for the best part of 20 years.
London’s Evening Standard newspaper reports the cumulative queuing time saved over the past year thanks to the new scanners runs to in excess of a decade, with the average time spent queuing to clear security at LCA now just three-and-a-half minutes.
London City, which introduced its new scanners ahead of the summer 2023 season, had hoped to be the first UK airport to complete its upgrade. However, it was pipped at the 11th-hour by Teesside airport, which in March 2023 became the first to fully scrap the 100ml liquid rule.
Alison FitzGerald, London City’s interim co-chief executive and chief operating officer, said the airport was committed to delivering "the quickest, easiest and most efficient airport experience in the UK", adding she was delighted with the results of its upgrade.
The rollout at London City airport offers a tantalising glimpse of the future travellers can look forward to – one they should have been able to look forward to this summer after the UK government set airports a 1 June deadline to transition to the new generation scanners.
However, the government last week conceded some UK airports – understood to include the likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester, the UK’s three busiest – would miss the deadline to complete their upgrades.
A number of airports have been given up to another year to upgrade their security arrangements, with the government threatening strict financial penalties should they fail to meet their new targets.
The impact of the delay, though, is already being felt; with the summer season barely a couple of weeks old, Abta has already come out to encourage agents and travellers – owing to what it described as a "lack of consistency" across the UK – to prepare for the existing rules to apply this summer.
