Qantas domestic passengers flying from Melbourne will soon be able to keep laptops, liquids and aerosols in their carry-on as Melbourne Airport embarks on a major security upgrade it says will make travel “smoother, enhanced experience for travellers” at T1.
Stage one kicks off this week with the construction of a temporary checkpoint fitted with new ‘computed tomography’ (CT) security scanners at the eastern end of the Qantas domestic terminal.
If all goes to plan, its six lanes should be open from August 2024.
When that happens, you can wave goodbye to removing laptops and aerosols from bags, with the time-saving scanners – already seen in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and the Gold Coast, and indeed Melbourne Terminals 2 to 4 – generating 3D images that can be viewed and rotated on three axes.
From there, work switches to a refurbishment of the existing security area, which is pencilled in for completion in December 2025 and will also see the installation of full body scanners.
Melbourne isn’t the only hub overhauling its facilities though, with Brisbane and Sydney also rolling out upgraded scanners by the end of 2025, in line with the Federal Government’s mandated airport security requirements.
The rest of T1 is expected to follow, along with the domestic T2 terminal used by Virgin Australia, Rex, Jetstar and other domestic airlines.
Brisbane is on track to upgrade all scanners at its domestic and international terminals “by 2025” to meet the Government’s Strengthening Aviation Security Initiative deadline, which aligns security screening with global standards by 2025.
However, the Australian Government says it has no plans to scrap or increase the current limit of 100ml/100mg limit on liquids, alcohols and gels on international flights.
Liquids limit raised to 2 litres
It’s a different scene in the UK, where airports are racing to meet a Government deadline requiring outdated security scanners be replaced with modern 3D versions by June 2024.
London City Airport was the first major hub in the UK to complete the upgrade, in April last year, with passengers now permitted to bring up to two litres of drinks, perfumes, beauty products and the like in their cabin bags.
Heathrow now has the scanners in Terminals 2, 3 and 5, with more in line for Terminal 4. However, the hub has its work cut out for it with 146 security lanes to be replaced.
The UK isn’t the first country to introduce the new technology: hubs including Amsterdam Schiphol and Helsinki, as well as several in the US, already have CT baggage scanners.
By Chris Ashton
Source ExecutiveTraveller
