Sun, May 06, 2007
Agency Acknowledges Added Inconvenience
Traveling through
airports has been, shall we say, challenging these days... and for
those who must traverse the airport terminals of the UK, it may
become even more taxing.
Be prepared for the new, the wonderful, the exciting
-- random tests of liquids carried in your hand luggage.
The Department for Transport (DfT) issued new rules to UK
airports May 1 asking them to randomly test those little containers
of liquids carried in clear plastic bags.
Passengers, of course, are currently permitted to carry up to
one litre or 34 ounces of liquids in containers of not more than
100 ml or 3.38 ounces in a clear, sealable plastic bag. (Has anyone
done a study on how consumer businesses like shampoo makers and
sealable plastic bag manufacturers have made out since these things
went into effect?)
"We have been running the trial as
if the DfT's rules had already been implemented (since January),"
said a Heathrow spokesman. "We are already geared up for testing
and there should not be any impact on passengers."
The test involves placing litmus paper in the randomly-selected
liquid.
In a letter leaked on a pilots' discussion forum, the
Professional Pilots Rumour Network, the DfT told airports: "It is
anticipated that this introduction will cause inconvenience to
customers, airport staff, and crew traveling through UK airports
and will potentially impact the speed of security processing."
The Department for Transport declined to discuss the new rules,
declaring that it did not comment on matters of airport
security.
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