New airport scanners are better at spotting liquid explosives, but many airports lack them

Source: AP

Updated 9:08 AM EDT, July 19, 2025


Travelers celebrated the suggestion that American airports might soon ease restrictions on liquids in carry-on bags that create endless hassles at security checkpoints, but more than a third of all airports around the country still haven’t upgraded their screening systems to reliably detect liquid explosives that could bring down a plane.

It may be annoying to have to dump water and other drinks before going through security, but the challenge is to detect the difference between things like harmless hair gel and more sinister substances. The threat nearly materialized in an attack in 2006, when authorities in the United Kingdom arrested a group that was plotting to blow holes in airliners with a homemade mixture of chemicals in sports drink bottles.

Security experts remain concerned about the vulnerabilities that were exposed by that plot. Comments this week by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got travelers excited about the prospect of one day being able to fly with more than 3 ounces of their shampoos and gels and not having to throw out the beverage they just bought.

“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.” A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson said Noem and the agency “are constantly looking for ways to enhance security, and improve the travel experience for the public.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/airport-liquids-tsa-kristi-noem-homeland-security-6b904af29658f740e57e6f94a2ac12bd