On July 8, at the moment U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was throwing a fancy press event for the cameras to announce the end of the Transportation Security Administration's "shoes-off" policy, airport authorities in Europe were already a step ahead.
A day before Noem's press conference, the leaders at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland did something even bigger. They broke the news that passengers no longer have to limit carry-on liquids to tiny bottles.
"Passengers will be able to keep liquids in their bags when going through security, and those liquid containers can now be up to two liters each," the airport announced.
The airport's official security advice about liquids has been updated to advise that "liquids can stay in your bag" at inspection checkpoints.
Following a a £24 million (US$32.6 million) investment in eight new X-ray machines, Scotland's busiest airport was finally able to jettison the onerous ban on fluids just in time for the annual influx of tourists for Edinburgh's blockbuster festival season.
That means passengers in Scotland are also now free to carry "all gels, pastes, lotions, liquid-solid mixtures (including food) and pressurized containers."
Parents can breathe a sigh of relief when they fly out of Edinburgh, as well. Baby milk and food "should now become much easier now we’ve moved to two liters," the airport assures passengers.
"A whole generation of travelers have only known the 100ml rule to be the case, so it really is a momentous day as we become the first airport in Scotland to lift the rule since it was introduced in 2006," announced Gordon Dewar, the chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, in a simple and economical written statement away from TV cameras.
But that's not the only improvement that Scotland has made through intelligent investment.
"Large electricals, such as iPads, tablets, and laptops, can also stay in hand luggage," the airport says.
In Scotland, they're flying like it's 1999 again.
In the United States, we've rediscovered shoes.
The 100ml rule was also scrapped in Birmingham, England, on July 7.
Edinburgh and Birmingham are at the leading edge of installing updated security technology, but it's important to know that most other airports in Europe and in the United Kingdom have yet to make similar changes, so don't expect to be able to carry water bottles through security on the Continent just yet.
But the capability is there, and if it can find a little cash to make life better for us paupers who have to fly commercial airlines, the United States could also choose to adopt the modern tools that make less restrictive security checks a possibility again.