Passengers boarding planes departing from Moscow's Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports will be stripped of any liquids in their carry-on baggage as security measures are being tightened throughout the country ahead of the Winter Games.
Security officers at Sheremetyevo Airport will remove all liquids, gels and aerosols from carry-on baggage- including cosmetics and medicines- the airport said in a press release published on Monday.
Vnukovo Airport has begun implementing similar restrictions, which also apply to baby food, but will allow liquids to be taken on board for medicinal purposes provided passengers carry an official statement, Lenta.ru reported Wednesday.
The new safety requirements are part of a wider tightening of security measures ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi. The security crackdown, which went into force on Jan. 7 and will remain in place until Mar. 21, also restricts ground transport in and around Sochi.
Safety concerns have been high since two bombings in Volgograd, 700 kilometers away from the Olympic host city, killed at least 34 people in late December.
The new requirements have caught many passengers by surprise, especially since not all airports have begun implementing the new rules.
Domodedovo Airport, St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport and Sochi's airport said travelers would still be allowed to carry liquids on board in containers of 100 milliliters or less, which is the standard upheld at most international airports, Lenta.ru said.
Similarly, Russian airline Aeroflot still showed the old rules for carry-on liquids on its website on Tuesday, despite complaints on the airline's Twitter account from passengers who had been caught off guard by the new regulations.
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