Zurich Airport installs new CT scanners—Passengers can now carry up to two litres of liquids in cabin baggage

Zurich Airport has quietly completed the roll-out of next-generation computed-tomography (CT) security scanners across all departure lanes, and the new equipment went live on the morning of 8 July 2026. The 3-D imaging technology allows security staff to rotate and enlarge images of cabin bags, giving them a clear view of any prohibited items without forcing passengers to unpack laptops, tablets or toiletries. In practice, travellers departing from Zurich can now leave electronics in their bags and take as much as two litres of liquids or gels—far above the old EU-wide 100-millilitre limit—provided each container holds no more than 500 millilitres. The Swiss hub joins a small club of European airports—London City, Amsterdam Schiphol and Milan Linate among them—that have adopted CT lanes ahead of the EU’s December 2026 deadline for large airports. Zurich’s early move was driven by intense summer-peak traffic: Swiss International Air Lines expects roughly 60,000 passengers a day in July and August, generating long queues at legacy X-ray checkpoints. According to airport operator Flughafen Zürich AG, the new system increases hourly passenger throughput by around 25 percent while cutting manual bag searches by half. That translates directly into shorter dwell times for connection passengers and fewer missed flights when tight transfers coincide with weather or ATC delays. For business travellers the change removes one of the last bottlenecks in an otherwise seamless air-rail inter-modal journey. Executives arriving by train from Basel or Berne can now walk from the station below the terminal to their gate in under 20 minutes, even with a wheel-aboard full of presentation equipment. Travel-management companies say the upgrade will also reduce the cost of “priority security” add-ons that many corporates bought for tight itineraries, because the standard lanes have become significantly faster. Operationally, the CT machines are paired with automatic tray-return conveyors and biometric boarding-card readers that eliminate the need for staff to handle documents. Flughafen Zürich AG told The Local that 96 percent of passengers cleared the checkpoint in less than five minutes on the first full day of use—a performance metric the airport intends to maintain through the busy school-holiday period. The scanners are certified under EU Regulation 2015/1998 and meet Swiss civil-aviation security standards, meaning the new liquid allowances are valid for all destinations except a handful of countries that still enforce 100-millilitre rules on arrival. Travellers connecting onward within the Schengen area will enjoy a fully “liquid-friendly” experience, but those flying to the United States, China or India should check the rules at their final destination.



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Swiss International Air Lines has updated its pre-flight emails and mobile-app notifications to reflect the change, and travel-risk consultants are advising corporate clients to amend packing guidelines in employee handbooks. With other Swiss airports—Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse—scheduled to upgrade their lanes by spring 2027, the country is positioning itself as an early adopter of passenger-friendly security technology while maintaining its reputation for rigorous but efficient border controls.