Liquids to be banned in carry-on luggage ahead of Sochi Olympics

MOSCOW - A ban on liquids in carry-on luggage ahead of the Sochi Olympics will take effect on Saturday, Russia's Transport Ministry said Friday.

Russian passengers are not allowed to carry liquids during flights of any size, including less than 100 ml. Medications, special dietary needs, baby food are excluded from the ban, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in a telegram to the Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia and the Federal Transport Supervision Service Rostransnadzor.

Meanwhile, items purchased at controlled areas, including in duty free shops, could still be taken onto the flights, said the telegram.

These measures are being taken to "protect civil aviation facilities from acts of unlawful interference" during preparations period and holding of the Sochi Olympics and Paralympics Games, said the document.

Relative measures will be adopted to the pre-flight and post-flight inspection procedures, the minister said, adding Rostransnadzor will supervise additional security measures in airports throughout the country.

President Vladimir Putin instructed additional security measures in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in his latest decree signed on January 7. Local experts believed the measures are "indispensable" for the time of the Games or any other events of similar significance and scale.

Twin terrorist bombings hit the southern Russian city of Volgograd, some 690km northeast of Sochi, on December 29-30, killing 34 people and injuring more than 100. The North Caucasus region has been on high alert following the terror attacks.

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games, the first time in Russia, are slated for February 7-23, 2014, with 98 sets of medals up for grabs.