Brussels Airport has announced a plan to deploy next-generation security scanners from 2028 that will allow passengers to keep liquids and laptops inside their cabin baggage during screening. The technology relies on computed tomography (CT) systems generating detailed 3D images of carry-on bags.
The airport’s current procedures still apply the 100 ml limit for liquids in hand luggage and require laptops and larger electronic devices to be removed from bags at the security checkpoint. The planned CT scanners are expected to replace these practices once fully operational, by enabling more precise detection of explosives, weapons and other prohibited substances without unpacking.
This modernization places Brussels Airport in line with a wider international move toward CT-based screening already under way at several major hubs in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. In those airports, similar equipment has paved the way for a progressive relaxation, and in some cases practical removal, of the 100 ml liquids rule and the obligation to separate electronics at security.
The 2028 horizon indicates a multi‑year investment and equipment renewal program, likely involving testing and a gradual ramp-up before wider deployment across checkpoints. The effective lifting or modification of current liquid restrictions at Brussels Airport will depend both on the implementation of the new scanners and on future Belgian and European regulatory frameworks.