Overview
- Several major airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham and London Southend, now permit liquids in containers up to two litres to remain in hand luggage for screening.
- Other airports such as London Stansted, Luton, Liverpool John Lennon and London City continue to enforce the 100ml limit though many now allow 100ml containers to stay inside bags without a clear plastic bag.
- Next-generation security scanners that let passengers keep large electronics like laptops inside their bags are in operation at many sites, but some operators cannot lift the 100ml rule until the scanner vendor’s screening algorithm receives government sign-off.
- Passengers are being told to check rules for both departure and return airports, allow extra time during the busy summer period, and keep vapes and items with lithium batteries in hand luggage rather than in hold baggage.
- The move reflects two decades of liquid restrictions introduced after a foiled terror plot and a technical shift to automated X-ray analysis that still depends on vendor algorithms and regulator approval before changes can be applied across the whole UK network.