Cardiff Airport not ready for new liquids limit

New scanners will not be installed at Cardiff Airport in time for the new liquids limit

Cardiff Airport is not ready to lift the limit on the volume of liquids that can be taken through departure gates this summer.

All UK airports were told to have high-tech scanners in place by 1 June so passengers would not need to remove liquids or laptops.

The limit on liquids is also being increased from 100ml to two litres.

Cardiff is one of several airports to have applied for extensions having failed to install the technology.

Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester Airports have already announced they would miss the original deadline.

Some smaller airports like Teeside, London City and Birmingham have managed to install new security screening technology and are expected to go live on time.

Spencer Birns, Cardiff Airport's chief executive, said: "We are expecting to take delivery of the new equipment later this year and will roll that into our operations accordingly.

"Passengers travelling through the airport should prepare for security as usual and continue to carry liquids, aerosols and gels in containers up to 100ml in a one-litre transparent bag."

He added that there had been "third-party supply chain issues" which had caused delays at a number of airports across the UK.

'Address cost challenges'

The UK government’s intention was that all UK airports that were handling over 1 million passengers annually in 2019 would need to install the new scanners by June.

The Welsh government said, as the sole investor in the airport, it would invest £6.6m "to address the cost challenges" of installing the new scanners.

The October 2023 announcement from Lee Waters, the then-deputy minister for climate change, explained the cost had "increased significantly" from the original estimates.

He said: "This is partly due to inflation, but also due to the complexity of installing the equipment in a 1970’s era building; a process which has required the safe removal of asbestos in a live operational environment."