ETRC discusses LAGs with India, South Korea, Barbados and Israel

Nicole Mezzasalma

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Frank O’Connell met with ambassadors in Brussels to talk about the EU’s mutual recognition scheme

European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) president Frank O’Connell met with ambassadors from India, South Korea, Barbados and Israel in Brussels to discuss the European Union’s mutual recognition scheme for the security standards concerning liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) carried by air passengers transferring from a third country through Europe. O’Connell has urged the officials to complete applications for approval of their countries’ airports to allow travellers to keep their liquid purchases brought into Europe when transferring onwards. He stressed that the ETRC would follow up the discussions with the local operators in those countries.

O’Connell said: “I am delighted with the response we got and am hopeful that there will be an announcement in the near future on the next country to follow Singapore. That said, progress is not as fast as we were hoping and I would urge my colleagues across the world to waste no time in urging their governments to act quickly with the Commission.”

The ETRC added that it is planning a further round of high-level diplomatic meetings later in February and urged all non-EU countries that have not applied for recognition to do so “as soon as possible”.