TSA liquid restrictions for air travelers expected to remain in place until 2040

We still have to wait for a plan to speed up the queues at airport security checks.

The 3.4-ounce rule for liquids will remain in place for now. The Transportation Security Administration said a scanner that can detect liquids up to two liters will not be introduced before 2040, largely due to passenger numbers.

It is not permitted to carry liquids in containers larger than 3.4 ounces onto an airplane. This rule should be changed.

It won’t happen anytime soon.

The rule, introduced nearly 20 years ago as a temporary response to a failed terrorist attack in which the perpetrator attempted to bring flammable explosives onto a plane, remains in place. Some airports in Europe began using a new computer tomography (CT) scanner in 2022 that can distinguish different types of liquids and their quantities.

Some airports, but not all.

The TSA in the US has not yet fully adopted the new technology and does not plan to do so for at least the next decade, so the 3.4-ounce rule will remain in place until there is more uniformity, even though some airports are already using the new scanners.

“TSA still uses CT scanners capable of screening larger volumes of liquids. However, the agency will not be able to make any changes any time soon because there are approximately 2,000 screening lanes in approximately 430 airports,” a TSA spokesperson said. “We anticipate that it may not be until 2040 that we have CT scanners fully deployed across the country and the opportunity to change requirements across the system.”

However, facial recognition is used.

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