Europe’s airports ready for new rules on liquids, aerosols & gels

The new EU* rules for air passengers carrying liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) take effect today. They are being introduced as part of a more ambitious plan to lift the ban on the carriage of LAGs altogether.

The new rules will have minimal direct impact on EU air passengers as their primary function is to facilitate passengers travelling from/to non-EU airports transferring at EU airports and the LAGs in question are only those purchased (and correctly packaged) at airport shops and on board air carriers.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE commented “The new LAGs regime starting today is the fruit of strong cooperation with the European Commission, national authorities and international partners°, as well as other industry stakeholders. Europe’s airports are ready and have spent in excess of €150 million to accommodate the change. This will enhance the airport experience of transfer passengers who until now had to surrender their duty free purchases from non-EU airports** and air carriers.”

He added “This is part of our investment toward getting back to the good old days before 2006, when there were no restrictions on LAGs at all for passengers. We are committed to reaching that ambitious end goal and we will continue our cooperation with the European Commission and the other partners. This will require further advancements in screening technology, in terms of security, operational feasibility and passenger facilitation. It’s only by taking all these into account, that we will remove the hassle out of this aspect of air travel.”