The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced that it will not repeal its hated 3-1-1 liquids rule until 2040 at the earliest – and that will only happen if the agency succeeds in completing the rollout of next-generation computed tomography security scanners across the United States.

The 3-1-1 rule was hastily introduced after British and American security authorities foiled a terrorist attack on August 10, 2006. The aim was to smuggle liquid explosives onto transatlantic aircraft using ordinary-looking drinks bottles that had been sealed in a way that made them appear as if they had not been tampered with.

However, on the 18th anniversary of the 3-1-1 rule, there are still no concrete plans to lift the liquid restrictions for airline passengers. However, the next generation of X-ray machines will hopefully allow the rule to be eliminated in the future.

Unfortunately, the technology has faced some teething issues and plans to lift the liquid cap in the UK and across the European Union have failed after regulators found that the machines did not work as well as manufacturers claimed.

The British government had hoped to lift restrictions on liquids at UK airports this year. But even before the teething issues became apparent, a slower-than-expected rollout of the machines at major airports such as London Heathrow meant that the rule had to remain in place longer than expected.

Some airports that had completed the rollout ahead of schedule were initially allowed to lift restrictions, but in June UK regulators announced they would revert to the old rules – even at airports that had invested heavily in the new CT scanners.

Earlier this month, the European Union also announced that it would reintroduce restrictions on liquids at airports with scanners in September because the devices had proven unreliable.

CT scanners are designed to eliminate the need for passengers to remove liquids and electronic devices from their luggage at security checkpoints by creating a 3D image that is analyzed by sophisticated algorithms to detect weapons, explosives and other prohibited items, including liquid explosives.

However, it turns out that the software in these CT scanners is not nearly as effective as expected, resulting in more bags requiring a second hand search than the X-ray baggage scanners they replace.

However, the rollout of these machines is continuing and it is hoped that a software update will resolve the glitches. Unfortunately, while the introduction of liquid restrictions is only temporary, there is no information on how long it might take to update the algorithms to make the machines more reliable.

The U.S. government has decided to maintain the 3-1-1 rule until the installation of CT scanners is completed at all airports where the TSA is responsible for security.

This means that the TSA will have to install the scanners at 2,000 screening lanes in around 430 airports, according to a TSA spokesperson. The timeline for full implementation: 2040.

At that point, the TSA says, it should have “the opportunity to change the requirements systemwide.” Let’s hope the schedule is met.

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