Dublin Airport has recently announced new security measures involving liquids, gels and electronics, with it now not being necessary to take electronics out of carry on bags, as well as now being allowed to have liquids and gels up to 2 litres.  

These gels and liquids can now be kept in hand luggage, a big change to the previous rules of needing to keep liquids and gels under 100ml and having to keep them in a see-through bag. 

However, these are not the only changes to the new security measures, with around 30 new C3 scanners being implemented to both terminals in Dublin Airport. These C3 scanners use advanced technology to see through materials and make any possible security threats easily detectable. 

This addition makes Dublin Airport one of the first in Europe to fully switch to C3 scanners, which DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) CEO Kenny Jacobs is thrilled about: 

“The completion of the C3 scanner rollout at Dublin Airport marks a major milestone in enhancing the passenger experience. Travellers no longer need to remove liquids or electronics from their hand luggage during security screening, making the process faster, smoother and more secure. This multi-million-euro investment reflects our commitment to reducing queues and improving efficiency, ensuring passengers spend less time waiting and more time enjoying their journey.” 

These changes have been introduced as measures to achieve the DAA goal of ensuring 90% of passengers take less than twenty minutes to get past security at Dublin Airport. 

The DAA set the same goal for their 2024 year, confirming in their annual reports and accounts that they comfortably exceeded this target at both Dublin and Cork Airport. 

However, how impactful will those changes really be? Not just for passengers, but for those who work in airport security and other staff alike. To find out their opinion on the subject, I spoke to Lauren Toland, an air hostess with plenty of knowledge on security in Dublin Airport, who described the changes as “necessary”. 

“I think it’s always necessary to keep updating things and trying to make things easier for passengers. I know more than anyone how stressful the airport can be, busy literally all the time, so any little help that can make things slightly easier is always welcome. People just want to get through security as quick as possible, obviously the checks have to be done thoroughly, but to be able to do it to the best of the security’s ability just means it’s a better scenario for everyone involved.” 

Lauren went on to describe how the complaints about security become “tiring”. 

“I don’t think anyone on the planet enjoys going through security, it can be tiring to hear people complaining about it but I’m definitely hearing less and less of it as the years go by, which is a credit to the company for genuinely trying to improve things.” 

With this response, as well as the optimistic statement made by the DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs, it is clear that these new security measures appear to be bringing positive change so far. Shorter waiting times for passengers as well as new advanced equipment for staff appears to be leading to a smoother experience for all involved.  

We will soon discover the true extent to which the new measures have had once the DAA releases its annual report for 2025 later on this year.