I think we can all agree that when we bring a carry-on bag onto a plane, being limited to as many 3.4-ounce or less bottles of liquids, gels, pastes, etc., that you can squish into one 1-quart plastic bag is sometimes inconvenient. But it’s been that way since 2006 after British authorities reportedly stopped a plot to blow up planes headed for the United States with liquid explosives.
Enter: CT Scanners
PC: TPA
As technology has improved over the years and airports across the world are investing in CT scanners. These machines allow security staff to check bags on their screen in 3D, as well as rotate them 360 degrees. The CT scanners can also assess if any substance presents a threat.
Because CT scanners can tell if liquids are dangerous or not, several airports in Europe had done away with their versions of the 3-1-1 liquid rule since 2022 or so (although some of those removed the rule and then put it back into place – at least, for now).
What about the U.S.?
Good question.
After more non-USA airports’ security checkpoints announced doing away with their respective liquids rules, in late 2022, I asked the TSA when people in the US would be able to carry more than 3.4 ounce bottles in a quart-sized bag. Here’s their response – it wasn’t very uplifting then, and until the other day, it still didn’t look very good for us.
A break in the clouds!
But then I saw an article in Conde Nast Traveler last week. It was about 11 full-sized liquids you can bring through airport security, but part of one small paragraph about the future of the TSA caught my eye:
Here in the US, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tells Condé Nast Traveler they “anticipate the limit on liquids will be lifted in the coming years.”
Of course, they immediately followed that up by saying that for now, the TSA liquid limit remains in effect. But still! They anticipate the rule going away at some point!
Years
The concept of “years,” of course, can vary. It could mean 3 years…or 30 years. It’s very open-ended. That being said, nearly 2 years ago, their representatives were suggesting it wasn’t ever going to happen. So I’m taking this as a positive.
Now, before anyone goes all, “IT’S ALL SECURITY THEATER!” on me (I know some of you are just chomping at the bit to reply with some version of that. Just remember to read this first to help ensure your comment gets approved), to an extent, I get what they’re doing. The TSA scanners are definitely a deterrent because of what they find – you just have to look at how many loaded guns they’ve found in carry-on bags and on people this year. But there’s also something to be said about if the public at large just THINKS the TSA is going to catch them doing something wrong, they won’t try it. Some people call that “security theater.” But you know what? Whether it’s because we’re actually secure/safe or the TSA just makes some of us feel like we could get caught, it’s worked…we haven’t had an attempted bomb on a plane via liquid explosives since 2006. 
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