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Liquids rule could be the next change for airport security screening

Select passengers will be able to out a new self-service screening system at an airport in Nevada from the Transportation Security Administration.
TSA liquids (izusek/Getty Images)
(izusek/Getty Images)

Another shakeup could be coming for airport security measures.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could be modifying its liquids restrictions.

“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.”

She made the comment Wednesday at the Hill Nation Summit, hinting that the size limits could change.

Noem did not give details about what the new sizes could be or when an official announcement would be made.

Current TSA liquid policy

The TSA’s 3-1-1 liquids rule requires that liquids in carry-on luggage be limited to 3.4 ounces or less and stored in a single, one-quart, resealable plastic bag.

The rule was introduced in September 2006, shortly after British police stopped a terrorist plot involving liquid explosives, according to an official TSA timeline.

Passengers can travel with larger quantities of liquids, gels, and aerosols so long as they’re packed in checked luggage.

Other changes to TSA policy

Noem’s comments on Wednesday come shortly after the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, rolled back the rule requiring passengers to take off their shoes during airport security screenings.

According to the TSA timeline, in December 2001, Richard Reid, later known as the shoe bomber, used matches to try to ignite explosive devices hidden in his shoes. It happened on a flight from Paris to Miami.

Five years later, TSA established the rule that passengers must remove their shoes to screen for explosives.

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