European law report - Airport restrictions on liquids relaxed

Air passengers coming from third countries and transiting through the EU will no longer be obliged to surrender duty free liquids purchased at third country airports.

The European Commission recently decided to relax security regulations adopted last year which prohibit passengers from carrying more than 100ml of liquids in their hand-baggage past screening points and on board aircraft. This law has had far reaching operational and financial repercussions both for airports across Europe as well as for air passengers themselves.

One of the consequences of these regulations has been that passengers arriving from third countries and transferring at EU airports are not allowed to take liquids bought in third country airports on board connecting flights when they change planes. They were obliged to leave their purchases behind at the transfer airport since there is no way to check that the products purchased in third country airports have been subjected to security standards similar to those applied to liquids on sale within EU airports. Thousands of litres of perfume and alcohol are thus being confiscated daily at EU airports.

However, a compromise has finally been reached to the satisfaction of all players concerned. In terms of this recently enacted law, the European Commission is now entitled to grant exemptions to third countries on a country-by-country or an airport-by-airport basis. Such exemptions are granted only once the European Commission has verified that such countries apply aviation security standards equivalent to those taken by EU member states.

In particular, such third countries must comply with EU standards for tamper-evident bags and security levels for supply chains to airport retailing must be in line with those taken by EU member states. The European Commission retains the right to inspect airport facilities and operations in order to verify compliance of third country airports with these EU standards.

It is up to the individual countries to initiate discussions with the European Commission and formally apply for such an exemption.

In practical terms, the exemptions will mean that air passengers who purchase liquids from duty-free shops in third countries and who change planes at an EU airport will be allowed to take such purchased products aboard internal EU flights. For example, a bottle of wine bought in a Canadian airport will no longer be confiscated from a passenger flying from Canada via Heathrow to Edinburgh at the point of transfer in Heathrow.

The first Commission decision as to which third countries warrant such an exemption is due to be taken by next autumn.

The European Commission will now also seek to engage in discussions with those third countries whose security standards are found to be in line with those adopted by EU airports with the aim of obtaining reciprocal arrangements for passengers departing from an EU airport. Such reciprocal arrangements will essentially mean that these third countries will take a similar decision to accept EU security standards and permit transit passengers flying in from the EU to keep their duty-free liquids.

Airports across Europe as well as the travel-retail industry as a whole welcomed this new law as a major step forward in decreasing inconveniences for both airports and passengers alike as well as giving the opportunity for duty-free retailers in recognised third country airports to sell as normal to all EU bound passengers.

The ball is now in the court of third country operators who have to get their act together in order to push their governments into discussions with the European Commission to obtain an exemption as quickly as possible.

• Dr Vella Cardona is a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.