Electronic devices in hand luggage to be inspected separately at Spain's airports

From today (Sunday, March 1), numerous different types of electronic devices will have to be removed from hand-luggage bags at the X-ray gates for separate inspection.

According to Spain's partially-State owned airport governing body AENA, this will include photographic and video cameras, laptop computers, netbooks, Tablets, mobile phones, electronic games which use batteries, hair-dryers, hair straighteners, irons, and even portable sewing machines.

Any of these which contain sharp external parts would already be banned from hand luggage, but where they are permitted on board, they will need to be taken out of the bag and examined individually.

This means additional security staff at the entrance to departures, says AENA director Fernando Echegaray.

The new European directive states: “Recent information has shown that new methods of hiding improvised explosive devices are being developed by terrorists in order to bypass existing airline safety measures in place relating to hand-luggage inspection.”

As a result, airlines are now required to 'modify security measures' in order to 'improve mitigation of the threat of explosive devices hidden in hand luggage' with immediate effect.

Restrictions on carrying liquids, first applied 10 years ago, continue to be in place despite claims that they would soon be eradicated.