I am going to the UK next week and for the first time in ages I am flying. The last time I flew I had to "taste" baby food but now I have no idea what I can take through security. For example can I take some juice cartons and cereal bars? Can I take anything that I have put together at home, like sandwiches? Can I take a couple of packets of crisps? Can I take a tube of hand cream? Can the children take felt tips? okay I'm feeling stupid now!

Regulation hasn't changed much lately..After 09/11/01 liquid restrictions are the following:

Liquids include:
all drinks, including water, soup and syrups
cosmetics and toiletries, including creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, mascara and lipsticks
sprays, including shaving foam, hairspray and spray deodorants
pastes, including toothpaste
gels, including hair and shower gel
contact lens solution
any other solutions and items of similar consistency

you can take them into the cabin in limited quantities as follows:
containers must hold no more than 100ml
Containers larger than 100ml (excluding essential medicines) will not be allowed through the security point even if they are only part full.

You can take sandwiches with you..

From the easyjet web site

You can take liquids on board as hand baggage, provided they are stored in containers no bigger than 100ml, and brought to the airport in a clear, re-sealable plastic bag with maximum dimensions of 20 x 20cms. Each passenger can carry a maximum of 1000ml (e.g. 10 x 100ml).

Nothing sharp ie nail clippers or nail files.

Best bet is to look at the web site of the airline you are travelling with.

If you take food to eat on the plane it must fit inside your hand luggage. Sometimes the airlines are very strict and will only allow 1 hand luggage eg one small hang case see your airline for size and weight. Others will let you have the hand luggage and your hand bag..


Twice I have had to squeeze my OH's handbag into my hand case while stuffing my pockets with stuff that it had carried. I have also had to leave a book I had just bought to read on the plane at east mids because I couldn't find room in my bag for it.

Btw, note that a washbag in clear plastic does not count as a reasealable plastic bag. My OH takes his clear washbag which has holes underneath the zip at the sides and puts into this a clear zip lock with all his stuff in, the wash bag being sturdier. His biz partner didn't use the zip lock in the same kind of bag and had to ditch all her make-up etc for the sake of a placcy zip lock - which also has to hold no more than 1 litre or 10 of the 100ml products that you are allowed to take with you.

You can take food, wrapped, made at home, in a bag, in a tin whatever...

I've also carried contacts through without any problem but I don't use cleaners or anything anyway. I believe felt tips are okay, but I wouldn't take them on a plane with my daughter anyway!! Pencils are fine. You can also take fluids purchased airside onto the plane but remember with Easyjet and Ryan anything purchased airside HAS to fit into your carry on bag - if it doesn't you either have to chuck it away or Easy was charging €10/carrier bag but now I think you have to be able to get it into your carry on..Easy have no weight restriction on carry on bags (they all have to fit the size requirements) but you have to be able to put it in the overhead lockers without assistance. Ryan has a 10kg limit.

Thanks for the replies. I'm not done though. Would a small, unopened carton of juice need to go in a resealable plastic bag? And does resealable include freezer bags with the twisty tie?

No it doesn't include the twisty ties. They have to be of the zip lock type, as in built into the bag, which is why my OH's biz partner thought her clear wash bag would be okay. No, you won't be able to take a juice carton as you would be then intending to open it on the plane, it's cosmetics only, or so I believe...Maybe it will be clearer on the airline website??

Funnily enough its not clearer on the Flybe's website and since the only place that I know that sells the ziplock bags is Ikea and I don't really want to use my son's book bag as a substitute I guess I will have to take the hit at Malpensa and buy something.

Yes, you would need to get the right size from IKEA too as some of theirs are HUGE!! Don't you have a luggage shop near you? They would almost certainly have the correct type of bag - most places like that see them as a way to make easy money..

Don't know where you are, but Auchan sell their own brand and Cuki, as do most other large supermarkets. You can buy them at Malpensa in the news agents at €1 each! Mind you, they are/were £1 at Gatwick too.

Sometimes I am so organised that it scares me. Not over this though. We go tomorrow, I still have loads to do and any luggage shop probably isn't open on a Monday morning. It's a two and a half hour flight. We'll cope.

TR, your comment about your daughter and felt tips made me chuckle. I'm only taking the older two and my son is the same age as Antonia but because I am used to the little two (5 and 3) I'm thinking that he will be fine. Although last time I flew with him he stopped the escalator at the gate while I was changing a stinky nappy.

At Gatwick they hand out the ziplock bags for free just before you enter the security gates. Some other airports have vending machines.

Just remember the 10 x 100ml rule = you can take 1L max, with no 1 item being larger than 100ml. Bear this in mind for things like aftershave, shavegel, etc.

Orange juice cartons are likely to be greater than 100ml, no?

We always take home made sandwiches, crisps and chocolates thru security without problems. Drinks we buy after security. Haven't used Easyjet or Ryanair in ages so don't know much about the 1 bag rule but with BA it's never been a problem, i.e. coming back to Italy this Xmas I had my trolley, laptop bag and a WHS shopping bag full of sweets and drinks!

Re one bag rule..

My OH parents flew from Catania to Milan with Easy Jet at last December. A woman attempted to fly with... her large handbag, a bag containing home made arancini, plus a gift wrapped present for her grandchild.

Easy jet said no after much haggling and tears they let her on with the present and her hand bag. She had to leave the arancini behind.

When I flew to Milan from east mids in November (Ryanair) a young woman had 4 full carrier bags and her huge handbag that was also full. The Ryanair women told her to fit everything into one bag, her face was a picture!!!! After she got on the plane people started to reunite her with her belongings. It seems that the Italians took pity on her and distributed her belongings amongst themselves until she was safely on board.

Yes, they usually ask to fit everything in one bag, ...and talking about food I once called the dogana in Malpensa,to ask if I could bring some cheese in my hand luggage, and they had no problem with that, seasoned food: cheese, salami are ok, but no diary products at all...

Arancini left at the airport...?. mmmh nice meal for Police then..

we flew with ryanair last week.
The one rule bag wasn't applied at Ciampino (I had the impression that no security rules were applied either).
At Edinburgh the one rule bag was extremely strict - according to the line you were queuing in.
Bags were measured and weighed and a couple of people were asked either to leave stuff behind or pay the difference in one line, whilst in the other people were passing through without any problems...

Luckily I was in the "right" line - my bag was stuffed with cheddar and cadburys !

Not fair! They had them in the vending machine last time I went through.

Last trip with ryan from Bergamo, they weighed hand luggage and them again at the gate and made people put them in the size control thingy. Almost caused a riot, but the staff didn't allow anything extra on, not even newspapers!

BTW. BMIbaby starts a twice weekly flight Verona - East Midlands in May. Not cheap though.