London’s Heathrow Airport closed its First Wing security area in Terminal Five on Tuesday, January 9, to begin installing new, high-tech scanning equipment. The project is scheduled for completion by June. The roll-out of scanners across the UK began in 2022 when London City Airport trialled the devices.
The scanners will allow passengers to carry up to 2l of liquid and devices such as laptops in their carry-on bags without the need to remove them to go through security.
Passengers are frequently delayed by regulations that limit them to 1l of liquid, which must be separated into 100ml bottles and carried in zip-lock bags.
However, it is doubtful that the summer deadline will be met. Heathrow Airport told the Civil Aviation Authority in December that the security upgrade would be “difficult to deliver” on the planned schedule and that they did not expect the scanners to be fully installed before 2025.
A source from the airport told The Times that Heathrow, with 146 security lanes, would be the biggest challenge to reach the June government deadline. The airport has invested around £1 billion (R23 billion) on the project.
Gatwick Airport has also begun phasing in new scanning equipment.
