Some airports in France are equipped with state-of-the-art machines to check cabin baggage, and liquids no longer need to be removed from them. But a European decision again requires them to be presented in a separate bin. Explanations.
Removing things from your cabin luggage, a ritual well known to airplane travelers. During pre-boarding security checks, you must show liquids and electronic devices separately from your bag or bag before going through the scanner to detect dangerous products.
Except for the next few months, it was no longer necessary to put these products in a separate bin. Certain airports in Paris, Lyon and Marseille have been equipped with state-of-the-art machines, making this stage of controls more fluid and potentially able to pass liquids of more than 100 millilitres, which was not . still possible.
Olympic warning
These are cabins, called EDS (“explosive detection system”) of C3 standard, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) told us, which enables this feat. But will it be very short-lived?
From the beginning of August, and even in airports equipped with these cabins, you have to remove liquids from your luggage again. Consequence of decision at the European level.
In France, DGAC therefore expects this measure: passengers must take their liquids away again, up to 100 ml per bottle and in a transparent bag of no more than 1 liter from 1 August.
“This decision was taken in particular to ensure the best level of security during this period of the Olympic Games although no particular threat has been seen so far,” explains the administration responsible for air transport safety and security.
A “temporary” decision.
But what security problem have these new scanners created, even though they have been authorized by the European Union since the end of 2021?
“We had reports from airports in certain Member States, which supported what the Americans and the British had also noticed: in some cases, very rarely, above a certain quantity of liquid, [ces scanners] detect explosives poorly”, detailed the European Commission to Le Monde.
Regarding the DGAC, the DGAC mentions “a technical difficulty with this type of equipment that should be resolved in the coming months”.
It is therefore expected to return to the schedule originally planned in Europe, and a generalization of this new equipment is expected for 2030.
“The decision should, therefore, be a provisional decision and not a final one”, confirms DGAC.
Fear of Chinese espionage?
The French administration also denies rumors about the American pressure on control equipment, of which the Chinese is one of the main producers, that there are risks of spying on sensitive data contained in the luggage:
“There are producers [de ces scanners] of various nationalities, including American, and European and French decisions relating to all equipment, whether of Chinese, American or other origin. So it is not motivated by the security problems of the Chinese company that is on the C3 EDS standard market.”
Consequences to put into perspective
For the DGAC, it is also important to put the consequences of this decision into perspective. Few airports were still equipped and among them, it was not guaranteed that passengers would pass through the scanners of this latest generation. For example, 10 out of 200 screening stations have been inspected at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
“The likelihood of a passenger being able to leave liquids inside their cabin baggage was low.”
The DGAC emphasizes what also reassures the investments made by European airports in these new machines, with “computers and other electronic equipment that can remain in baggage subject to being screened-screened” by the most generating machines recently
Enough to help streamline this stage of checks while you wait to be able to leave your liquids in your hand luggage again.