This article was originally published in Spanish
The latest generation of scanners allow passengers to carry on electronic devices and liquids without quantity limits, but the European Commission has questioned their reliability and called for the previous model to be temporarily reinstated.
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Going through airport security can be a tedious part of the air travel process, but several European airports have managed to speed up the process with the introduction of state-of-the-art scanners that allow passengers to carry any amount of electronics and cosmetics in their carry-on luggage without having to remove them from their bags.
But despite the devices' popularity, Brussels recently called for a return to the previous model, which limited liquid containers to 100 millilitres.
Efficient but insufficient
Called C3 EDSCB technology, these advanced scanners provide high-resolution, three-dimensional images of baggage contents from CT scans and can easily detect explosive ingredients in all kinds of cosmetics, liquids and electronic devices.
This means passengers don't have to open their suitcases or remove some of their belongings, which could cause delays, but instead simply go through a metal detector.
But their effectiveness has been called into question by a technical report submitted by the European Commission to the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) in May last year, which said the software in these scanners cannot be trusted for containers with a volume of more than 330 milliliters.
Then, on July 31, Brussels announced a decision to apply “temporary” restrictions to these C3 explosive detection systems as a “precautionary measure” until “certain technical issues have been resolved,” a Commission spokesman said. But officially, “the Commission has not changed its view on the quality of this new generation of scanners and their performance has not been questioned,” the spokesman added.
Airports that already use the C3 models will have to revert to traditional X-ray scanners because the technology is not strong enough to provide a detailed picture of the inside of an object or detect explosives in liquids.
Airport economic loss
These new scanners are “eight times more expensive” and maintenance costs are “four times higher”, meaning airports that have already invested in these new scanners to improve passenger experience “will be at a significant disadvantage as the benefits associated with the use of this cutting-edge technology will largely be unrealized,” Airports Council Europe (ACI) said in a statement.
“Security is non-negotiable and one of the top priorities for European airports, so all airports will comply fully with the new regulations. However, airports that are early adopters of this new technology are facing heavy penalties, both operationally and financially,” said ACI Secretary General Olivier Jankovec.
“The decision to now impose significant restrictions on its use calls into question whether industry can have confidence in the current EU certification regime for aviation security equipment,” he added.
Most passengers Euronews interviewed at Belgium's Zaventem airport said the regulatory change won't affect them much, as they're used to not carrying liquids and leaving their electronic devices at home. But those who have experienced the airport's high-tech C3 scanners and advanced body scanners noticed a fundamental difference in how easily they could access their boarding gates.
Nevertheless, both airport personnel and travelers unanimously want to start their vacation as soon as possible and as comfortably as possible. For this reason, those who have decided to postpone their vacation to September should make sure that they do not carry more than 100 milliliters of sunscreen or cosmetics if they do not want to waste their free time at airport checkpoints.
