Many UK airports not ready for two bags switch over
29.12.07
Some of the UK's main airports - including Gatwick, Luton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford Airport - do not yet have permission to ease the one-piece cabin baggage restriction from January 7, the government has said.
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly announced in November that airports will be allowed to relax their baggage restrictions after January 7, provided airports have purchased improved security scanners or have satisfied the DfT that relaxing the rule will not lead to increased security queues. They had to submit plans to the Department for Transport (DfT) to demonstrate that they have sufficient screening capacity while being able maintain security standards. But only 19 have so far met the appropriate standards, and have been given permission to relax the rule, with some of the UK's biggest airports have yet to meet the required standards.
A spokesman for the DfT said: 'Some airports have coped with the changes, but some need to improve.' Passengers might feel confused about the different rules at different airports, he said, but said it was the industry's responsibility to inform them. To add to the confusion, size limits on liquids and cabin baggage will still apply and airlines can place their own restrictions on the amount of hand baggage that can be taken in to their aircraft, so even if an airport is approved for two bags, an airline can still restrict passengers to one.
Malcolm Robertson, head of corporate communications at airport operator BAA, said he expected more BAA airports, including Gatwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh, to be approved by the government in the next few weeks. But he said that Gatwick airport failed to meet the targets because it had a shortage of technology and people.
A spokesman for easyJet said it was worried that passengers could turn up at airports with the wrong amount of baggage. The airline flies from Stansted airport, which is allowed to relax the bag restrictions but also from Gatwick, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Glasgow and Luton, where the old luggage rules still apply.
To confuse passengers further, each airline may also have its own regulations on hand luggage. Ryanair, for example, is likely to keep the one bag limit at Stansted. Security staff will send passengers back to check in surplus luggage if their airline is still enforcing the one-bag rule.
The airports that have permission to relax baggage restrictions on January 7 are: Aberdeen, Benbecula, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Heathrow, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, London City, Manchester, Plymouth, Prestwick, Southampton, Southend, Stansted, Stornaway, Sumburgh and Wick.
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