Imagine you can bring full water or shampoo bottles through the airport without being stopped safely.
After the Transport Safety Administration ended its unpopular and long-standing footwear removal policy last week, travelers correctly doubted: Will the TSA limit on liquids be ended next?
I have brought this issue to TSA’s senior attacks many times over the years, including the top leader last fall.
Yes…the long-term plan is to end “3-1-1”. but when That could be another story.
Read more: “Game-changing” alternatives available at 8 U.S. airports this summer
It is history that shoes are being removed – What about 3-1-1?
TSA announced the end of its nearly 19-year-old shoe policy for passengers passing through its checkpoints, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security leaders have cited improved technology as a reason for the change since the rule was first enacted in August 2006.
But the TSA has not changed its suppression of the liquid, which began the same summer, after a second attempt to foil the horrors to make a solo flight.
Read more: 8 ways to get free or discounted TSA Precheck, global entries and clear ways to
Today, “3-1-1” remains the TSA policy: For liquids, gels and aerosols you carry around, your limit is no more than 3.4 ounces per container, which must fit a clearly resealable bag.
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How often do passengers forget?
Huge bins filled with abandoned toiletries and water bottles were found in almost every major airport security checkpoint.
While safety considerations are an obvious priority, the policy can bring inconvenience and costs – from buying expensive water in the airport lobby to buying travel-sized toiletries ahead of time.
However, the policy may not exist forever.
Read more: Every time you travel, it will be in a carry-on bag
TSA opens to end liquid ban…finally
In an exclusive interview with TPG last year, then TSA administrator David Pekoske told me that his goal was to end liquid policy “early rather than later.” However, he warned that the change was “not around the corner.”
A large part of ending “3-1-1” will require the launch of a large blue CT scanner to more airports nationwide. As of last year, until the 2040s, none of these were fully deployed.
Pekoske told me last September that he said: “I hope we can make some partial changes along the way.” The most famous country to do so is the UK, despite some obstacles it has encountered in its plans to end the large liquid ban.
Related: Global entrances have received high-tech “booting” upgrades at 7 airports in the United States
Trump administration ‘evaluates’ all TSA rules
However, Pekoske is no longer the top leader of the TSA, leaving his post when the Trump administration took office.
However, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told reporters last week that it will continue to open in the future so that TSA’s liquid rules will be relaxed in the future.
“Every rule I want to say is being evaluated,” Norm said in a July 8 press conference.
“Your technology, liquids, belts, shoes, all of which are being evaluated and looked at,” she continued. “But this can only be achieved if we have enough technology to ensure we do this safely and still make the system stronger.”
Bottom line
Relaxation of TSA liquid policy can be said to be a more significant change for more travelers than footwear policy. Passengers with TSA Precheck have been allowed to keep footwear at checkpoints, meaning millions of rules have been exempted from the rules ending this month.
However, regardless of TSA Precheck access, every passenger must comply with the agency’s ban on larger liquids, gels and aerosols.
Many millennial and Gen Z travelers, despite being adults, may not remember that they could bring a bottle of sunscreen in a bag they carry around, as this mid-30s traveler could prove it.
Again, every passenger can now have shoes on the airport – so, this is the beginning.
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