Three men, whose arrest prompted restrictions on liquid in hand luggage, have been found guilty of a plotting to blow up passenger aircraft using home-made explosives disguised as drinks.
Tanvir Hussain, Abdulla Ahmed Ali and Assad Sarwar were found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday following a six-month trial. Four others were found not guilty.
Following the men’s arrest in 2006, security measures were introduced to limit the volume of liquid passengers could take on board aircraft to 100ml.
The result was chaos and disruption at British airports and, according to estimates, the ban has cost the aviation industry more than £100 million in increased security costs and lost duty-free sales.
A report by The Times in March this year suggested the ban could be lifted following the upgrading of airport X-ray machines.