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Expect queues...

The announcement that airlines will now be obliged to pay out for delays is good news indeed for passengers. It certainly eases the pain of hours stuck in the departure lounge and is particularly well timed as we head into the delay season that is Christmas. What it doesn't do, sadly, is make getting through security any easier.

Lengthy queues at security

Lengthy queues at security

Since 9/11, the queues ahead of passport control and the security scanner have been long at best, disruptively unwieldy at worst. It's no surprise given the number of hoops travellers are asked to jump through - and there's no hoop more time consuming for punters, and staff, than the 100ml liquids allowance.

Regulating the volume of water, make up and toiletries travellers want to take on board is incredibly costly for airports, as well as passengers who are often forced to dump aerosols, drinks, creams and gels in a bid to satisfy the rules. While the wheels of change are in motion, passengers have been warned to expect the lengthy queues to continue until 2013.

If a draft proposal from the European Commission gets rubber stamped, airports who can afford expensive liquid bomb security scanners will be allowed to relax their regulations, while smaller airports will have to maintain the 100ml rule. It could make flight transfers tricky to say the least. On the bright side, the plan does say that all airports should be able to screen suspect liquids by April 2013. Only three and a bit years to go, then!

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