Smiths Detection said today it had been awarded the contract to supply eight “leading-edge” baggage scanners at Edinburgh Airport, Scotland’s busiest with more than 11.3 million passengers in 2022.
It declared that the scanners, which produce three-dimensional X-ray images, will “eliminate the requirement to remove electronic devices, liquids, and gels from hand luggage, and will allow passengers to take up to two litres of liquid to be carried on to a plane”.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport emphasised existing liquid rules would remain in place this summer, with the replacement of the scanners being “an ongoing project for a number of months”.
READ MORE: Scottish Government Prestwick backing is 'interesting use of £50m'
Smiths Detection noted its “hi-scan 6040 ctix” product is a computed tomography (CT) X-ray scanner which delivers “quicker baggage assessment and low false-alarm rates of automatically identified threats”.
It added that the scanner “also provides a very detailed analysis of a bag’s content, allowing security operators to easily spot items that shouldn’t be there”.
READ MORE: SNP Prestwick Airport backing pays off, with critics quieter
Smiths Detection’s head of market, Andy Evripides, said: “We are delighted to be supplying Edinburgh Airport with our leading CT checkpoint X-ray scanner. The system provides higher levels of safety and security, leading to a significantly improved passenger experience by allowing them to pass through security with less hassle and the need to unpack and repack their hand luggage. The system also uses the least energy of its type on the market, helping airports reach their sustainability goals.”
READ MORE: Airport chief: 'Hugely powerful' Glasgow not punching its weight
Adam Wilson, chief operating officer at Edinburgh Airport, said: “Providing passengers with a smooth and safe experience through security is incredibly important to us and the implementation of the new Smiths Detection hi-scan 6040 ctix will deliver that as we adopt this new technology. Safety is always paramount and, by moving forward with these innovative and next-generation scanners, we will maintain those high security standards while helping passengers move through the airport quicker.”
Smiths noted major airports have been given a deadline of mid-2024 by the UK Government to install CT scanners.
It said: “Edinburgh Airport will follow a phased implementation of new x-ray technology during 2024, installing…Smiths Detection’s hi-scan 6040 ctix units to maintain high safety standards and improve passenger experience.”
Smiths added: “Passengers should continue to prepare for security as normal – no more than one litre worth of liquids and any liquids being carried must be under 100ml, with all liquids fitting into one clear bag. Laptops, tablets and large electricals must also be removed from bags and placed into security trays.”
The spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “As we need to replace all of the scanners it will need to be in stages so it will be an ongoing project for a number of months. Work will begin later this year to start that transition and we’ll be coming out with more information when that time comes.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here