It’s been nearly two decades since new security measures were introduced which limited the amount of liquids that airline travelers are allowed to take with them in their carry-on luggage. Currently there is a 3.4 ounces (100ml) liquid limit, put into place after a failed 2006 transatlantic liquid bomb plot.
A couple years ago, airports in the United Kingdom and Europe began rolling out Computed Tomography (CT) units that can determine liquids differently. This resulted in those airports allowing passengers to take higher liquid amounts with them. However, in June the UK abruptly reinstated the current limit for all airports and the EU followed suit.
The TSA in the US is as well rolling out CT units but don’t hold your breath that American airports will change the current policy anytime soon. As a matter of fact, the TSA doesn’t expect the rules on liquids to change “for some time to come.” To be exact, a TSA spokesperson confirmed to Travel + Leisure that it won’t happen until 2040.
That’s when it expects to have CT units fully deployed across the nation at the roughly 2,000 screening lanes in about 430 airports. Once the CT units are installed, the TSA will be able to change the current 3-1-1 liquids requirement across the system.
While there is that distant glimmer of hope for increased liquid limits that travelers will be allowed in the future, airlines themselves may place new restrictions on carry-ons in a not so distant future.
New regulations for carry-on luggage?
It can be terribly confusing for travelers to make sure that their carry-on luggage will be allowed in the cabin as permitted dimensions vary from one carrier to another. The European Union is looking into “possible common industry standards on the weight and dimensions of hand luggage,” according to The Independent, holding a workshop on the matter in July.
Additionally, in October a resolution was passed in the European Parliament calling for “EU-wide harmonisation of the requirements on the size, weight and type of carry-on and check-in luggage for all airlines operating in the European Union.” This standardization it says “would enhance transparency and consumer protection for all air travellers.”
Mundo Deportivo reported that American Airlines may plan to follow suit, as well as other airlines, and tighten its own size dimensions for carry-one luggage. The move would prevent confusion for Tran-Atlantic travelers.
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