Generally, there’s two types of travellers when it comes to preparing for a holiday. In one camp, you’ve got those who pack their suitcase weeks in advance and decant every liquid they own into smaller bottles so they don’t have to waste any time trying to stuff everything into a plastic bag before going through security.
But in the less-organised camp, you have those who leave packing for a holiday until the last minute, and turn up to security with an overflowing bag of liquids. So it was a relief for many travellers to hear that the 100ml liquid was going to be scrapped by a number of airports in the UK. However, with so much information out there, travellers have been urged against making one simple mistake when arriving at the airport.
Long queues at security can be a hassle, especially if you’re cutting it close to get to your flight, and travellers failing to adhere to the 100ml rule is a major cause of delay at many airports already.
But not being clued up on the new rules could cause even more delays when travelling, and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has warned that travellers should still stick to the 100ml liquid allowance ahead of any travel plans for the time being.
While ITV reported that Birmingham and Edinburgh airports have lifted the rules on travelling with liquids, meaning passengers can now keep liquids in their bags when they go through security, and each container can be up to two litres, these are the only airports in the country so far to introduce the new allowance.
Elsewhere in the country, the 100ml allowance is still enforced at London City, Luton and Teesside airports, but travellers can keep liquids in bags when going through security.
The Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed that the 100ml rule remains in place at all other airports, and urged travellers to check the rules before showing up with large amounts of liquids that they’ll inevitably have to get rid off.
She also encouraged travellers to check the rules for the airports they’re flying into, and plan to return to the UK from, as the rules will likely differ between countries too.
Speaking to Times Radio, she said: “My advice is that you should work on the basis that it is 100ml at the moment unless you have heard from your airport otherwise.”
The only exception the rule applies to liquids needed for essential medical purposes, special dietary requirements or containers of baby food and milk.
Supply chain delays have meant some airports have struggled to get their hands on the machines which make the contents of passenger’s bags available in even more detail, with individual airports responsible for the rollout of new machines.