Liquids rule could be the next U.S. airport security screening change, DHS Secretary suggests

Delta planes at Terminal C of LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the Queens borough of New York, U.S., on Sunday, April 7, 2024.

The liquid rule for carry-on bags could be the next airport security measure to be overhauled.

Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, hinted at a possible policy change on Wednesday at the Hill Nation Summit hosted by The Hill and NewsNation in Washington.

“But I will tell you — I mean the liquids — I’m questioning. So that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem told NewsNation’s host Blake Burman.

Noem’s comments came shortly after DHS rolled back a rule in place for nearly two decades requiring travelers to remove their shoes at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. The DHS oversees the TSA, which was established after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

The TSA’s 3-1-1 liquids rule — which requires that liquids in carry-on luggage be limited to 3.4 ounces or less and stored in a single, one-quart, resealable plastic bag — was introduced in September 2006. The rule was established shortly after a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives on transatlantic flights was foiled by British police, according to an official TSA timeline.

Larger quantities of liquids, gels and aerosols are permitted in checked luggage.

Noem spoke more broadly about streamlining the airport screening experience for U.S. travelers.

“Hopefully the future of an airport, where I’m looking to go, is that you walk in the door with your carry-on suitcase, you walk through a scanner and go right to your flight,” Noem said. “It takes you one minute.”

Noem said DHS is talking with various companies about technology that could help achieve that goal, adding that travelers will see pilot programs at a few airports before such measures would be implemented widely.

The secretary added that the multi-layered security screening system allows for changes. “It is still a process that is protecting people who are traveling on our airlines, but it has to make sense,” she said. “It has to actually do something to make you safer,” Noem said, followed by a dig at the Biden administration.

TSA and DHS did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for more details about possible policy changes.