The government has set out plans that will see barriers and special glass used at airports in order to protect against possible terrorist attacks.
In a Commons statement, prime minister Gordon Brown said that a review by Lord West into the protection of strategic infrastructure had identified a need to “step up physical protection” against potential vehicle bomb attacks, such as the one at Glasgow Airport earlier this year.
The report proposes the installation of “robust physical barriers as protection against vehicle bomb attacks, the nomination of vehicle exclusion zones to keep all but authorised vehicles at a safe distance, and making buildings blast resistant”.
However, Brown added that airports would be able to seek permission from early January to relax the one-bag rule that prohibits passengers from taking more than one piece of luggage with them into the cabin on flights.
Liquids more than 100ml will still be banned but this could change in the future.
“As soon as we are confident that airports are able to handle additional baggage safely, these restrictions on hand baggage will be progressively lifted,” he said.
A spokesman for airport operator BAA told the Travelmole website: “We welcome the announcement to relax the rules on a phased basis starting in the new year.
“We believe that this is a sensible approach which strikes the right balance between the needs of passengers and the legitimate demands of security.”
