The Economist’s Gulliver on a new machine that may end the liquid restriction on flights:
Now there is some hope on the horizon. Fox News reports that the Insight100, a new machine manufactured by a British company, “can identify the chemical composition of liquids sealed in non-metallic packaging” by shining a laser at the container and analysing the spectrum produced by the light. The machine is already in action at dozens of airports across Europe, has low false-positive rates, and has been short-listed for a prestigious engineering prize.
Honestly, the liquid restriction itself doesn’t bother me too much, but taking it out of bags in non-TSA Pre lines drives me crazy.
As the article highlights, the real question here is if this is faster than the current method. If it is, the cost will probably be worth it. If it’s not, the issue becomes how much longer are we willing to wait in security lines to be able to bring more liquid on a flight? For how many people are the current rules too restrictive?
