The government on Friday announced strict security measures at airports in the wake of the unearthing of a terror plot in Britain, banning the carrying of liquids or gels by air travellers.

Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad told reporters that travellers would be allowed to carry only one piece of hand baggage, including laptops.

They will not be permitted to carry any liquids or gels in the hand baggage, he said. Besides being X-rayed, the hand baggage will also be manually checked, Prasad said. Any liquid medicine or inhaler carried by air travellers will be allowed on board aircraft only on the presentation of proper medical prescriptions.

The new security measures came a day after police in London [Images] said they had arrested 24 men in connection with a plot to target some 10 passenger jets flying from Britain to the US.

According to reports, the men had planned to use certain liquids and sports drinks to create inflammable cocktails that could be ignited using MP3 players or mobile phones.