UK Airports Given More Time To Get New Scanners In Place That Will Lift Liquid Restrictions

Drink it or bin it: That phrase should have become history this summer at all U.K. airports.

But it’s set to persist for at least another year after the British government said it will grant extensions to several large U.K. airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology. The airports include London’s two biggest, Heathrow and Gatwick.

The new scanners use computed tomography, commonly known as a CT scan, to produce clearer images. They are being rolled out globally, including in the U.S. and across Europe, and will allow passengers to go through security with two liters (70 ounces) of liquid in their hand luggage — rather than the current paltry 100 milliliters (3.5 ounces).

They will also mean laptops and tablets won’t need to be removed from bags — saving even more time.

The restrictions were introduced around the world in 2006 following a foiled terror plot to blow up planes flying from London to the U.S. with homemade liquid bombs. They were not expected to be in place for 18 years and have been cited as one of, if not the, biggest cause of delays at airport security checks.

A deadline for the new technology to be in place at U.K. airports had originally been set for Dec. 2022 but that was delayed to this summer as a result of the huge disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The new deadline comes after airports reported that they were struggling to install the scanners ahead of the busy summer holiday period, largely due to supply chain delays and construction difficulties caused by the weight of the machines.

The Department for Transport said the extensions will be granted on a case by case basis and that it was exploring how financial penalties could be imposed for further non-compliance.

It did not provide a breakdown of the situation for each airport, citing security concerns, but said that by the start of June about half of passengers flying from U.K. airports will be processed by the new scanners. London City Airport, a popular short-haul airport, has already successfully introduced the new scanners, as has Teeside Airport in the northeast of England.

“These cutting-edge scanners will make air travel safer and easier for passengers by strengthening security even further,” said Transport Secretary Mark Harper.

“The U.K. is leading the world with its rollout of this technology, but it’s important we give those airports yet to meet the deadline a second chance to get the job done. Until they do, passengers should continue to check before travelling.”

Heathrow has previously said it expects to have new scanners in all security lanes sometime this summer, while Gatwick expects to complete the program by the end of March next year. Manchester Airports Group, which runs Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, said its scanners will be fully rolled out in 2025.

“Airports are making excellent progress in delivering these multi-million-pound investment programmes, which will ensure the U.K. remains at the forefront of aviation security in the years ahead,” said Karen Dee, chief executive of the trade body Airport Operators Association.

Naomi Leach, deputy editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said passengers leaving the U.K. should be warned about potential problems and delays ahead as different rules will apply at different airports.

“It’s imperative that these changes are made as quickly as possible and that the rules at different airports are communicated clearly to passengers in the meantime,” she said.

If not, it’s going to be heard again.
Drink it or bin it.

BY PAN PYLAS, AP

Pubs, Haircuts, Gyms Must Wait As UK Lifts Lockdown Slowly

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday was setting out a road map for lifting one of Europe’s strictest national lockdowns — but the millions of Britons eager for a haircut or an evening out still face a long wait.

Johnson is expected to announce a plan to ease coronavirus restrictions in increments, starting by reopening schools in England on March 8. People will be allowed to meet one friend or relative for a chat or picnic outdoors beginning the same day.

Three weeks later, people will be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to six and amateur outdoor sports can resume. But restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers are likely to remain closed until at least April.

The measures being announced apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have slightly different lockdowns in place, with some children returning to class in Scotland and Wales on Monday.

Britain has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 120,000 deaths.

Faced with a dominant virus variant that scientists say is both more transmissible and more deadly than the original virus, the U.K. has spent much of the winter under a tight lockdown. Bars, restaurants, gyms, schools, hair salons and nonessential shops are closed, people are urged not to travel out of their local area and foreign holidays are illegal.

Hopes for a return to normality rest largely on Britain’s fast-moving inoculation program that has given more than 17.5 million people, a third of the country’s adult population, the first of two doses of vaccine. The aim is to give every adult a shot of vaccine by July 31, and to protect the over 50s and the medically vulnerable by getting them a first vaccine jab by April 15.

But the government cautions that the return of the country’s social and economic life will be slow. Johnson’s Conservative government was accused of reopening the country too quickly after the first lockdown in the spring and of rejecting scientific advice before a short “circuit-breaker” lockdown in the fall.

It does not want to make the same mistakes again, although Johnson is under pressure from some Conservative lawmakers and business owners, who argue that restrictions should be lifted quickly to revive an economy that has been hammered by three lockdowns in the last year.

The Conservative government -- in normal times an opponent of lavish public spending -- spent 280 billion pounds ($393 billion) in 2020 to deal with the pandemic, including billions paying the salaries of almost 10 million furloughed workers.
Va
ccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government’s plan for lifting restrictions was “steady as she goes.”

“Outdoor versus indoor, priority being children in schools,” he said. “Second priority is obviously allowing two people on March 8 to meet outside for a coffee to address some of the issues around loneliness.”

The government says further easing will depend on vaccines proving effective at lowering hospitalization and deaths, infection rates remaining low and no new virus variants emerging that throw the plans into disarray.

Authorities are eagerly awaiting data on the impact of vaccination on infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

A Scottish study released Monday found that the vaccination program had led to a sharp drop in hospitalizations. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland found that in the fourth week after an initial dose, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced hospital admissions by as much as 85% and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shot cut admissions by up to 94%.

Scientists said the results were encouraging, but cautioned that the study did not assess whether people who have been vaccinated can still pass the virus on to others.