Heathrow Airport Limited, which manages four airports in the United Kingdom, has purchased the LS10 liquid bottle scanner from Battelle and Sellex International
to screen liquids, aerosols and gels in almost any container for threats such as explosives.
The purchase comes months before airports in Europe are set to allow some liquids in their original containers through aviation security checkpoints that are currently banned, such as baby formula and duty free alcohol.
The sale to Heathrow Airport Limited follows recent sales of the desktop LS10 to airports in Scandinavia for screening liquids, aerosols and gels.
These sales bring to more than 100 the number of LS10s that have been sold to airports in three continents, Mark Davis, director of Business Development with Battelle, tells HSR. The systems have also been sold to airports in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, he says.
In the U.S., the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has purchased liquid bottle scanners from CEIA and Smiths Detection. Davis says that the LS10 is in the evaluation stages with TSA.
Davis believes there is still a U.S. market for the LS10 although the near-term focus is on Europe as airports there begin to lift the partial ban on some liquids in Jan. 2014. He says Battelle and Sellex are active in tenders and trials globally.
The potential worldwide market for liquid bottle scanners is in the thousands and it’s debatable whether its tens of thousands, Davis says.
The LS10 typically completes its scan of a container in two to five seconds. If there is an alarm, the system doesn’t require any downtime before scanning the next item. The system relies on radio frequency and ultrasonic technology to detect explosives in a wide variety of bottles and containers.
Advanced Fiber Products, Ltd. is providing service and distribution support for the LS10 in Europe.