There is no single liquid rule in Britain any more. Heathrow, Gatwick and Southend let you keep liquids in your cabin bag in containers of up to two litres. Stansted and Luton still hold you to 100ml per container. None of the London airports makes you use a clear plastic bag, and all of them let laptops stay in the bag.
GOV.UK confirms the split in its own words: "The rules for taking liquids through security in your hand luggage have changed at some UK airports. Check with the airport before you travel." The reason is the uneven roll-out of CT scanners, which can see inside a full bottle. Where they are installed, the old limit has gone; where they are not, it has not.
The practical consequence is that the airport you fly home from matters more than the one you leave from. A two-litre bottle that passes at Gatwick will be taken off you at an airport still working to 100ml, including two of London's own.
| Airport (September 2026) | Maximum liquid container | Plastic bag needed? | Large electronics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 2 litres each | No | Stay in the bag |
| Gatwick | 2 litres each, but not metal or double-walled | No | Stay in the bag |
| Southend | 2 litres in total; aerosols over 500ml banned in hand and hold | No | Stay in the bag |
| Luton | 100ml each | No | Stay in the bag |
| Stansted | 100ml each | No | See the airport's own list |
| London City | We could not read its rules; check before you fly | – | – |
Heathrow: two litres, and empty the flask
Heathrow says plainly that it has upgraded its scanners and that you can now keep liquids and large electronic items in your cabin bag. Liquids may be in containers of up to two litres each. Laptops, tablets and other large electronics stay in the bag. The one thing you must do is empty metal and insulated bottles before security; you can refill them on the other side.
Heathrow also adds the warning that matters: "Not all airports use the same security equipment. If you're flying from another UK or international airport, check the local security rules before you travel." Our guide to arriving and departing at Heathrow covers the rest of the process, and Terminal 5 has its own timings because of the satellite gates.
Gatwick: two litres, but not in metal
Gatwick's position matches Heathrow's with one extra condition. Liquids can come through in containers holding up to two litres, "provided they are not in metal or double walled containers", and those still have to be emptied before security. Everything else, creams, gels, pastes, sprays and aerosols included, stays in the bag.
Gatwick spells out the rest of the lane in a way the other airports do not. Have your boarding pass ready to scan; your passport is not needed at security. Remove coats, jackets and belts, which are X-rayed with your bag. You may be asked to take your shoes off. And Gatwick recommends packing food and powders in hold luggage, because they obstruct X-ray images and cause manual bag checks. Hand luggage must not exceed 56cm by 45cm by 25cm. Our Gatwick guide covers the terminals and the trains.
An insulated water bottle is the item most often emptied at Gatwick. The scanner cannot see through a double-walled flask, so it does not matter how much is in it or what it is. Drink it, pour it away before the queue, or put the flask in your hold bag.
Stansted: still 100ml, and they do confiscate
Stansted is the airport where the old rule bites, and its own wording is unambiguous: "Liquids, aerosols, and gels over 100ml each are not permitted through security." Containers larger than 100ml may be removed during screening, and the airport notes that this means both the liquid and the container. Bottles over 100ml must be completely empty before you enter security.
Stansted publishes the list of what it actually takes off people: expensive perfumes and fragrances, drinks and water bottles, flasks and containers, cosmetics and toiletries, and other liquid, gel or aerosol products over 100ml. If you are flying from Stansted, repack the night before rather than at the tray.
Luton: the bag stays packed, the 100ml stays too
Luton is the one that confuses people, because both halves of its message are true at once. Its CT scanners mean liquids and large electronics can stay in your bag, you do not need a plastic bag, and you do not have to take anything out. But its security page also states, in the same breath, that liquids and gels "are allowed in containers of up to 100ml".
So Luton has removed the inconvenience and kept the limit. Read it as: pack as though it were Heathrow, but with nothing over 100ml in it. Luton also says one lighter and one electronic cigarette per person may be carried. Our Luton guide covers the DART and the trains into London.
Southend: two litres in total, and a rule about aerosols
Southend adopted the new regime in February 2026, and its wording differs from Heathrow's in a way worth noticing. Southend says passengers may carry "up to two litres of liquids in their cabin baggage", which reads as a total allowance rather than a per-container maximum. It also imposes a limit the others do not mention: aerosols larger than 500ml are not permitted in hand or hold baggage at all.
Metal containers and flasks must be emptied before the screening area, and you can refill afterwards. Liquids may be pulled for extra testing. Children under a metre tall, babies included, are searched briefly by hand rather than sent through the body scanner. Our page on London Southend Airport covers the trains, which are outside the Oyster area.
London City: the one we could not read
London City Airport's website blocks our requests, so we have not read its current liquid rule and will not guess at it. GOV.UK's instruction applies here with full force: check with the airport. Our guide to London City Airport covers the rest of the terminal.
The exemptions that work at every UK airport
Three categories are exempt from whatever the local limit is, and GOV.UK is explicit that they apply at all UK airports. You may take containers of up to two litres through security if they are for essential medical purposes, for special dietary requirements, or contain baby food or baby milk.
Breast milk is a separate line: you can carry it in hand luggage even if you are not travelling with a baby, in containers of up to 2,000ml, and it will be screened individually. Frozen breast milk cannot go in the cabin at all. Formula milk, cow's milk, sterilised water, soya milk for babies and baby food are all allowed in the cabin, but the baby has to be with you. Cooling gel packs and ice packs are allowed in both hand and hold luggage. Our page on flying with children from London works through what that means with a pushchair and a toddler, and bringing medicines to Britain covers prescriptions and documentation.
Duty free, and the sealed bag you must not open
Liquids bought at an airport or on a plane can go through a later security check, but only if two things are true: the items are sealed inside a security bag when you buy them, and the receipt is sealed inside the bag and visible. You must not open that bag until you reach your final destination, though staff may need to open the items to screen them.
This is the rule that ruins connections: a litre of gin bought airside, opened to fit into a rucksack, is no longer exempt at the next security check. Our page on tax-free shopping in the UK explains why the high-street VAT refund no longer exists in Great Britain, and UK customs allowances covers how much alcohol you may bring in.
The things people lose that are not liquids
The national rules on solid objects have not changed, and they catch as many people as the liquids do.
- Lighters: one per person only. It must go in a resealable plastic bag and stay on your person throughout the flight. It cannot go in hold luggage, and it cannot go back into your hand luggage after screening.
- Matches: safety matches are allowed in hand luggage but not in the hold. Non-safety matches are banned from both.
- Scissors: allowed in hand luggage with blades no longer than 6cm. Longer blades, and knives of any length, go in the hold.
- Corkscrews: not allowed in hand luggage. Nail clippers, files, tweezers, knitting needles and sewing needles are.
- Contact lens solution: GOV.UK allows up to 100ml in hand luggage, whatever the local liquid rule says.
- E-cigarettes: hand luggage only, never in the hold.
- Frozen items: you cannot usually carry frozen liquid, food or ice packs in the cabin.
- Anything electronic: charge it. If a device will not switch on when asked, you will not be allowed to take it on the aircraft.
Gatwick's own prohibited list adds toy and replica guns, including water pistols, and loose razor blades unless the blade is set into a plastic moulding. Party poppers are banned everywhere.
Body scanners, and what happens if one goes off
Gatwick explains its own: millimetre wave imaging producing an outline, with automatic threat recognition rather than a person viewing an image, shown as marked areas on a generic figure. A security officer then decides whether a hand search is needed. Stansted says its scanners take a few seconds, that you stay fully clothed, and that they do not use X-rays.
If you are travelling with a medical device or an implant, tell a security officer before you join the queue rather than at the machine. Both Gatwick and Stansted have separate guidance for medical and special requirements, and if you need help through the process it is worth booking in advance: special assistance at London airports explains the deadlines.
The return flight is the one that catches you
Every London airport that has adopted the two-litre rule says the same thing about the journey home, and Southend puts it most directly: many airports around the world have not introduced the new technology, so you are likely to need a one-litre clear plastic bag and containers of no more than 100ml on the way back.
Pack for the stricter of the two ends of your trip. If you fill an empty bottle after security at Heathrow, empty it again before you check in for the flight back. And if you are choosing between London airports for a trip where you know you will be carrying liquids, which London airport suits you now has one more factor in it than it used to.
The plastic bag is dead in London, even where the 100ml limit survives. Not one of the five London airports we could read still asks for liquids in a separate transparent bag. Where a bag is required elsewhere, GOV.UK's specification is a single resealable bag of no more than a litre, roughly 20cm by 20cm, one per person, not tied at the top.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take a full water bottle through security at Heathrow?
Yes, in a plastic or glass container of up to two litres, and it can stay in your bag. Metal and insulated bottles are different: the scanner cannot see through them, so they must be emptied before security and can be refilled afterwards. Gatwick applies the same exception to metal and double-walled containers.
Is the 100ml liquid rule still in force in the UK?
At some airports, yes. GOV.UK says the rules have changed at some UK airports and tells travellers to check with the airport. In London, Heathrow, Gatwick and Southend allow up to two litres; Stansted and Luton still apply a 100ml limit per container. Most airports elsewhere in the world still work to 100ml.
Do I still need a clear plastic bag for liquids?
Not at any London airport we could check, including the two that keep the 100ml limit. Where an airport does require one, the government's specification is a single transparent resealable bag holding no more than a litre and measuring about 20cm by 20cm, one per passenger, shown at the security point and not tied at the top.
What are the liquid rules for baby milk and medicines?
Containers of up to two litres are allowed at every UK airport for essential medical purposes, special dietary requirements, or baby food and baby milk. Breast milk may be carried in containers of up to 2,000ml even if the baby is not travelling, but never frozen. For formula, cow's milk, sterilised water and baby food, the baby must be present.
Can I take my laptop out of my bag at London airports?
You do not need to. Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Southend all say large electronics can stay inside your hand luggage. Stansted asks you to check its own list. Whatever the airport, make sure every device is charged: if it will not switch on when a security officer asks, it cannot travel in the cabin.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: overview (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - Hand luggage restrictions: liquids and exemptions (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - Hand luggage restrictions: baby food, baby milk, personal items and electronic devices (checked September 2026)
- Heathrow - Security and baggage (checked September 2026)
- London Gatwick - Security screening (checked September 2026)
- London Stansted - Security (checked September 2026)
- London Luton - Security (checked September 2026)
- London Southend - Security preparation (checked September 2026)