Report: TSA Won’t Drop Liquid Rule Anytime Soon

It could take more than a decade for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to eventually drop its liquid rule.

According to a report in T+L, the TSA will not axe the 3-1-1 liquid rule, which essentially prevents travelers from bringing any liquids of more than 3.4 ounces through airport security, until at least 2040 because of the volume of scanners that the agency would have to replace.

The report throws cold water on optimism that new technology, including Computed Tomography (CT) scanners, would be able to make airport security more pleasant by allowing larger liquids. The TSA started installing new CT scanners at some airport checkpoints in 2020, but with 430 U.S. airports, any overall rule change will have to wait.

The report throws cold water on optimism that new technology would change airport security in the U.S., but there remains hope that it could happen elsewhere sooner.

The U.K., most notably, has been pushing new technology at its airport checkpoints that would allow passengers to avoid taking liquids out of their carry-ons, and allow airports to scrap the liquid rule altogether.

The U.K. had set a June 1, 2024 deadline for the change, but granted an extension to some major airports, including London Heathrow, and dropped the change at others because of logistical challenges installing the technology.

While there is no set timeline for the U.K. to change over fully, the expectation is that it will change soon—London Gatwick, one of the holdouts, said it expects to finish installing the scanners in the first quarter of next year.