After the Transportation Security Administration ended the shoes-off rule when going through TSA security checkpoints at airports within the United States, the Homeland Security Secretary has announced there may be more changes to current regulations, including to the 3-1-1 liquid rule.
The 3-1-1 liquid rule requires that travelers must bring only one quart-sized bag of liquids through the security checkpoint in their carry-on luggage, and all liquids must be packed in containers under 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters. Travelers are also required to take out their quart-sized liquid bags when going through airport security.
It’s one of the biggest regulations travelers and air travel experts have considered might be next to change.
According to the Associated Press, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is questioning “everything TSA does,” including the liquid rule. “The liquids, I’m questioning. So that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem said. “We have put in place in TSA a multilayered screening process that allows us to change some of how we do security and screening so it’s still as safe.”
There is currently no date by which Noem or the DHS would announce any additional changes to the TSA security screening process.
The limits on liquids were added the same year as the shoes-off policy was implemented, in 2006, after authorities stopped a plot that involved liquid explosives smuggled onboard a plane in carry-on luggage.
The European Union currently has similar rules to those of the United States; airports in EU member countries, along with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, require travelers to seal their 100 ml liquids in a one liter-sized bag and take it out of their carry-ons during the screening process.
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