Next-generation airport scanners in Britain: what changes and what can be searched

London Luton has opened a new security hall, and travellers have two immediate questions: is screening now staff-free, and can you carry more liquid? Using the official rules, here is what has actually changed and what can be searched — on departure and on arrival.

Is security really "staff-free" now?

No. According to the airport itself, Luton runs a new hall with ten Next Generation Security lanes, five positions each. They are built around CT scanners, which give a three-dimensional image of your cabin bag, as in medicine. Because of them you no longer need to take liquids or a laptop out of your bag — the airport explicitly asks you to "keep your liquids inside your bag for Security screening." But people are still very much there: security officers staff the lanes, random checks continue, and the drill is unchanged — scan your boarding pass barcode-down, put items in a tray, take off your watch, belt, wallet and phone and stow them in your hand baggage.

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Can you carry liquids over 100ml?

At most airports, Luton included, no: containers must be no more than 100ml each, even if only half full. Luton states that "all liquid containers in your hand luggage must be under 100ml each," including creams, pastes, lotions and gels. Some airports already allow containers up to 2 litres, but it depends on the airport, so check both your departure and transfer points. If you are asked to show liquids, they go in one transparent resealable bag: up to 1 litre, about 20cm by 20cm, one per person. Exemptions apply at all UK airports: up to 2 litres for medicines, special diets, baby food and baby milk. Duty-free purchases pass if sealed in a security bag with the receipt inside. An empty water bottle is fine; frozen liquids are not.

What can be searched on departure?

Your cabin bag is x-rayed and you are screened at an archway or body scanner. Security officers may open and hand-search your bag, swab it for traces of explosives and, under the rules of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), confiscate anything they consider dangerous even if it is not on the banned list.

Can you refuse the body scanner?

Under the Department for Transport code, selection for scanning must not depend on ethnicity, gender or destination, and screening must be carried out sensitively. Since November 2013 a selected passenger has an alternative to the scanner — "an enhanced hand search in private." So you will be screened either way, but you can choose the form.

What does Border Force search on arrival?

At the border you meet Border Force — this is customs, not pre-flight screening. The green channel is for those with nothing to declare, the red channel for those over their allowance. Duty-free allowances on arrival in Great Britain: 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine, 4 litres of spirits (over 22%) and 200 cigarettes; other goods and gifts up to £390 (or £270 if you arrive by private plane or boat). Over the allowance you must declare and pay duty on the whole category. A separate cash rule: £10,000 or more must be declared to customs when entering or leaving; failing to declare can mean a penalty of up to £5,000 and seizure of the cash.

What is banned outright?

Knives, firearms and ammunition, certain scissors, fireworks and party poppers, and flammable paints and aerosols are banned from the cabin. For a full breakdown of what you can and cannot carry in hand luggage and how it differs from the hold, see our guide to hand luggage rules at UK airports.