If you’re traveling to or from Hong Kong, you can bring liquids and electronic devices in your carry-on baggage so you don’t have to worry about removing them when going through airport security.
Airport Authority executive director for airport operations Steven Yiu Siu-chun said on Wednesday (June 26) that the new upgrades will be implemented in stages over the next two years, with 50 new smart security screening channels and 32 full-body scanners to cater for passengers and airport staff in Terminal 1 from July 2.
“Hong Kong will become the world’s first airport to fully implement a smart security inspection system,” Yao said, according to the South China Morning Post.
He added that the new system will increase immigration capacity by 20 percent to accommodate around 10,000 passengers, with the aim of 98 percent of passengers completing immigration clearance within four and a half minutes.
The airport’s departure hall currently has 35 security lanes capable of handling 240 passengers per hour. The new system will reduce the number of lanes to 28, but will be able to handle 360 passengers per hour.
Starting next Tuesday, the first four new security checkpoints will be installed in the South and North Departure Halls of the airport’s Terminal 1.
The new system will feature automated baggage-handling trays that can accommodate three people at a time, as well as new computed tomography (CT) X-ray machines to replace current scanners.
These devices scan passengers’ baggage and display 3D images to easily identify prohibited items without removing electronic devices, and they replace manual checks, reducing inspection time from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.
Unlike previous methods, passengers will no longer be required to remove liquids from their carry-on bags, but must ensure they do not exceed 100ml.
However, a final schedule has yet to be decided for the renovation of the airport’s Terminal 2.
Yu added that each new security channel would operate independently, on its own computer system, and would not rely on the internet to avoid a “domino effect” if one testing system went down.
Meanwhile, Jacob Chan Tak-keung, executive director of the Aviation Security Corporation, said about 3,100 staff had been trained to operate the new system.
The system upgrade is part of Hong Kong’s new “Smart City Blueprint 2.0” project, which aims to improve the lives of residents through the use of 130 innovation and technology initiatives covering mobility, living, environment, government and the economy.
