Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave

There was a total ban that kicked in a few days after 9/11, it wasn't immediately in place - it took a few days for the cause of the hijackings to sink in, but for several weeks no baggage at all was allowed, then they allowed things like a newspaper or a small bag of items bought airside, before allowing the current set-up a couple of months later. At that time not all bags were screened, screening was for metal items only, and many USA airports had carparks in the basement under the main terminals. So many airports had to do this until they got staff and equipment in place. Liquids were at that point allowed, it was in 2006 that was introduced. Again there was a brief period when no liquids could be brought airside (this wasn't a global ban however), and then there were several slight easings on the restrictions. Essentially the security protocol in Europe has been unchanged for over 10 years.