Facts: Arlanda
The airport was inaugurated on 1 April 1962 and is today Sweden’s largest airport.
At Arlanda there are around 107 direct lines, of which 87 are international and 20 are domestic. In addition to the direct routes, there are also many charter destinations.
In 2021, 7,494,765 travelers traveled to or from Arlanda.
Source: Swedavia
It is more modern technology in one of the security controls at Terminal 5 at Arlanda Airport outside Stockholm that enables travelers to now take more liquid with them than before. Travelers who end up at the security checkpoint with the latest technology do not have to take liquids out of hand luggage and put them in the transparent one-liter bag.
They also do not have to take out technology such as computers and tablets.
But since travelers cannot know which security check at Arlanda they will go through, and that the technology is in a break-in period, travelers should still adhere to the 100 milliliter rule, according to Peter Wärring, press communicator at Swedavia.
— If you end up in the second control where there is still a clear limitation of 100 milliliters, you must pour out the liquid you have with you.
Peter Wärring also says there is a risk that other airports that travelers arrive at do not have the same technology as the one applied at one of Arlanda’s security checkpoints. You thus risk having to throw away liquids that exceed 100 milliliters at a later stage.
Tightened in 2006
The rules restricting liquids in hand luggage on flights were introduced in November 2006 after a terrorist plot was uncovered the same year. The terrorist plans involved taking liquid explosives on board transatlantic airliners and then detonating the airplanes while they were in the air.
The EU Commission’s Committee for Air Safety, Aviation Security Committee, then decided to limit the amount of liquid in hand luggage to a maximum of 1 deciliter per container. Several containers have been permitted, but no more than can fit in a one liter bag.
However, through the new technology that has been installed in one of the security controls at Terminal 5, liquids can be analyzed to a greater extent. Therefore, the amount of liquid does not need to be limited in the same way.
Extend the technology
So far, tens of thousands of travelers have passed and most have had a waiting time of 10 minutes or less, according to Swedavia.
The technology is currently available at several airports around the world, including in Helsinki and Rome. But whether in the future it will be applied to more security checks at Arlanda and other airports around the country, it is too early to say.
— It is something that we strive for, to of course also develop and modify them. But this is very new and then we have to start this way and then take it further in the future, says Peter Wärring.