OAG Travel News

Despite a British jury failing to convict the men accused of the plot to blow up planes with liquid explosives, the new rules for liquid restrictions in-flight are here to stay.

Three of the eight men were accused of the lesser charge of conspiracy to murder, but none were charged on the more serious charges because there wasn’t enough evidence.

But any rumours that the liquid, aerosols and gel restrictions could possibly be lifted at airports was quickly ruled out by the British government.

“We base our rules on the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre’s (JTAC) latest assessment. The current national threat level remains at “severe” which is defined as an attack is highly likely. The court case has proven that a generic capability exists to create liquid bombs from domestic items,” said a spokesperson for the British Department for Transport.

“Aircraft could be vulnerable to such devices so we are right to continue to require restrictions for liquids carried as hand luggage.

“We are also right to require these restrictions internationally as, potentially, we are all at risk. Meanwhile, we continue to work with international colleagues to develop technological detection methods which could ease the restrictions,” he continued.

The measures were initially implemented in 2006 only in the UK and US, since then many airports around the world have also incorporated the procedures into their own screening process.

Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com