Cardiff Airport Delays Implementation of New Liquid Limits
Cardiff Airport will not be ready to lift the limit on the volume of liquids passengers can carry through departure gates this summer. This comes despite a mandate for all UK airports to have high-tech scanners operational by 1 June, allowing passengers to leave liquids and laptops in their bags.
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The new regulations are set to increase the liquid limit from 100ml to two liters. However, Cardiff Airport is among several that have requested extensions due to delays in installing the necessary technology. Major airports like Gatwick, Heathrow, and Manchester have also announced they will miss the original deadline.
Conversely, smaller airports such as Teeside, London City, and Birmingham have successfully implemented the new security screening technology and are expected to meet the deadline.
Spencer Birns, Cardiff Airport’s chief executive, commented, “We anticipate receiving the new equipment later this year and will integrate it into our operations accordingly. Until then, passengers should continue to prepare for security as usual, with liquids, aerosols, and gels in containers up to 100ml in a one-litre transparent bag.”
Birns attributed the delays to “third-party supply chain issues” affecting several UK airports.
Addressing Cost Challenges
The UK government aimed for all airports handling over 1 million passengers annually in 2019 to install the new scanners by June. The Welsh government, as the sole investor in Cardiff Airport, pledged £6.6 million to cover the increased costs of installation.
In October 2023, Lee Waters, then-deputy minister for climate change, noted that the costs had “increased significantly” from initial estimates. He explained that this was partly due to inflation and the complexity of installing the equipment in a 1970s-era building, which involved safely removing asbestos in an active operational environment.
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