Hong Kong air travelers can keep liquids, gadgets in hand luggage due to security upgrade
No need to stress about taking your liquids and gadgets out when you pass through airport security because you can keep them in your carry-on baggage if you're traveling to and from Hong Kong.
Steven Yiu Siu-chung, the Airport Authority’s executive director of airport operations, said on Wednesday, June 26, that the new upgrade would be done in phases in the next two years, starting with the installation of 50 new smart security screening channels and 32 full-body scanners to handle passengers and airport personnel in Terminal 1 starting July 2.
“Hong Kong will become the world’s first airport to fully adopt a smart security screening system,” Yiu said, as per the South China Morning Post report.
He added the new system aims to boost the site’s departure screening capacity by 20% to about 10,000 passengers, aiming to reach 98% of passengers to complete the screening process within 4 and a half minutes.
The airport’s departure halls currently have 35 security lanes accommodating 240 passengers per hour. The new system will reduce the number of lanes to 28 but will be able to process 360 people per hour.
Starting Tuesday next week, the first four new security screening channels will be lodged at the airport's first terminal's south and north departure halls.
The new system will have an automated baggage handling tray that can accommodate three people simultaneously. There will also be a new computerized tomography (CT) X-ray machine to replace the current scanners.
These devices can scan passengers’ hand luggage and show three-dimensional images for easier identification of prohibited items without having to remove objects like electronic gadgets. It will also replace the manual checks, which can reduce screening time from 15 to 10 seconds.
Unlike the old ways, passengers will no longer have to remove liquids from their carry-ons but note that it should not exceed 100ml.
However, there is not a final schedule yet for the upgrade of the airport’s second terminal.
Yiu added that the new security channels will operate individually with their own computer system. It will also not rely on the internet, avoiding the “domino effect” when one screening system is down.
For his part, Jacob Cheung Tak-keung, executive director of Aviation Security Company, shared that about 3,100 staff had been trained to operate the new system.
This system upgrade is part of Hong Kong’s new project, Smart City Blueprint 2.0 which aims to improve residents’ lives with the use of 130 innovation and technology initiatives covering mobility, living, environment, government, and economy, among others.