OREANDA-NEWS. A 'glasses-free 3D' technology is being trialled at Heathrow to help reduce the number of prohibited items placed in hand baggage and give departing passengers a smooth journey through the UK's only hub airport.

The new technology is being trialled in the departure security zone at Terminal 1. Large screens show 3D images of items that are not permitted through security such as scissors, tweezers and liquids over 100ml. Passengers are shown how to dispose of the items in the recycling bins before putting their luggage through the scanner.

If banned items are identified during a scan the bag is rejected and has to be hand searched by a security officer. This is an essential part of keeping air travel safe but can cause delays. Better preparation of hand luggage means the risk of bags needing to be searched is reduced and all passengers have a smoother journey.

The trial was launched after being suggested by one of Heathrow's security officers, Samit Saini. The trial will run for 8 weeks.

Richard Harding, Head of IT Innovation at Heathrow said:

“Helping prepare passengers for security saves them time and reduces the chance of having their bag searched. 3D technology is the latest way to help get this message across. Once we've analysed the trial's results we'll decide whether to expand the technology to the rest of the airport.”