Going through security control at Finnish airports is now more complicated than before.
As of Friday, 21 February, travelers at Helsinki airport are obliged to take out of their hand baggage all portable electronic devices and place them separately in the containers before passing them through the scanner.
Finavia, the main Finnish airport operator, explained in a press release that this new security procedure applies to all types of electronic devices.
Until now, the obligation to remove devices from the suitcase applied to computers, mobile phones and cameras. But from now on, even electric toothbrushes and razors will be scanned separately. The only difference is that these types of personal hygiene devices can be left in their own containers or pouches.
“The new procedure applies to all battery-powered electronic devices. From here on, in addition to mobile phones, computers and cameras, passengers must place devices such as electric razors and electric toothbrushes in the containers for scanning,” says the Director of Risk Management at Finavia Juha-Pekka Pystynen.
Finavia says it will speed up controls
Finavia justifies this measure on the grounds that it will speed up the controls, since it will no longer be necessary to recheck certain devices, on which the detection systems may launch alerts, once passed through the machine.
“For instance, when an electric razor is removed from the hand baggage before entering security control, there is no need to separately look for it after scanning the bags. This speeds up the whole process by reducing the amount of time used for looking for items and rescanning them,” Pystynen explains.
The airport operator also explains that "today, there are more electronic devices in the passengers’ hand baggage than before and, therefore, their smooth scanning significantly improves the security control process."
The new process has been put into operation at Helsinki Airport on 21 February 2020. But passengers are requested to follow the process also at other Finavia airports.
