Dublin scraps 100 ml liquid rule with new C3 scanners at security

Dublin Airport announced last week that it was lifting its 100 ml limit on liquids at security and eliminating the need for plastic bags, following the completion of a multi-million-euro roll-out of next-generation C3 scanners across both terminals.

From now on, liquids and gels can remain in your hand luggage when passing through security, and containers of up to two litres are permitted. Laptops and other electronic devices no longer need to be removed from bags for scanning.

The airport has installed around 30 “cutting-edge C3 scanners and body scanners”, which work much like hospital CT scanners by generating 3D images of the contents of cabin bags. This improves the detection of the bags’ contents and speeds up the screening process. C3 is regarded as the most advanced threat-detection technology currently available in the industry.

Dublin Airport says it is among the first large European airports to be fully ‘C3 operational’, beating its own October 2025 target and the regulatory deadline of December 2025.

✨ Big change to security rules ✨

From midnight tonight, passengers at Dublin Airport won’t need to take liquids, gels, or electronics out of their hand luggage anymore. pic.twitter.com/Hwgqx4TaRZ

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) September 18, 2025

However, passengers will still be required to remove belts, footwear, jackets, hoodies and jumpers, and place them in the security tray. The same applies to anything in their pockets.

Gary McLean, Managing Director of Dublin Airport, welcomed the new technology, calling it a ‘very positive and welcome development for passengers and staff’. He noted that during the peak summer months, the airport handled a record 11 million passengers smoothly and efficiently, with 96% proceeding through security screening in under 20 minutes, putting Dublin Airport on a par with the best in the world.

DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs added that Dublin is ‘one of the first airports of its size in Europe’ to have C3 for every passenger and confirmed that Cork Airport will be next, with construction due to start this month as part of a €200 million investment.

Dublin is one of Europe’s busiest hubs, ranking 13^th in terms of passenger traffic, with the majority of journeys being to and from the UK. According to Eurocontrol, 9.76 million travellers flew between Dublin and the UK in 2024, with an average of 91 daily flights. The security upgrade will therefore benefit many passengers.

However, DAA spokesman Graeme McQueen cautioned that not all airports have the same policies. Travellers flying with only hand luggage from Dublin to another airport may not be able to bring back the same amount of liquids and gels, since this rule has not yet been adopted universally. “The biggest limitation people should be aware of is that the rules might not be the same at the airport you’re returning to,” he warned.

While many restrictions were tightened worldwide following the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, the original 100 ml rule dates from August 2006, when UK police thwarted a plot to assemble liquid explosives on board transatlantic flights. Europe subsequently standardised the 100 ml/one-bag policy. With C3 now approved at the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) level, airports can raise the limit to two litres once the technology is in place.

However, roll-out remains uneven. Several airports in Germany, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden have deployed C3 and eased the rules, but most others are still transitioning. In the UK, where deadlines have been repeatedly extended, many airports have installed the scanners, yet Birmingham and Edinburgh are the only two to have lifted the 100 ml limit so far.