ETRC hails TSA decision

Nicole Mezzasalma

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

The European travel-retail organisation welcomed the US authority’s announcement regarding tamper-evident bags

The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) has welcomed the US Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to approve the use of sealed tamper-evident bags for duty-free liquids purchases after security by international departing passengers at US airports.

The organisation said the announcement is the result of an “active and sustained campaign” by the travel-retail industry but added that it is still unclear about the immediate effects of the decision as the US security standards have not been formally approved by the European Union. “The ETRC and its partners across the EU will continue to lobby the European Commission and Member States to speed up the process of security recognition between the EU and US, in order to ensure as swift a return to normal trading as possible,” it said in a statement.

ETRC chairman Frank O’Connell said: “I am delighted with this move by the TSA. We have been working hard with our colleagues in the US to achieve this for some time. Our immediate problem now is to attain recognition of this move by the EU as quickly as possible, and ensure business as normal for EU-bound passengers by the summer.”