Carry-On Liquid Limit: The Rules in 2026, Airport by Airport

What is the carry-on liquid limit?

There is no longer a single answer, and that is the most important thing to understand before you pack. For nearly twenty years the rule was the same almost everywhere: containers of 100ml or less, sealed in one clear bag. In 2026 that consensus has broken apart. A small group of airports has raised the per-container limit to 2 litres. Most of the world has not. The rule that applies to you is set by the airport you are departing from — not the airline, not your destination, and not the airport you flew out of on the way there.

Where you are departing from	Per-container limit	Clear bag required?
Any airport in the United States	100ml / 3.4oz	Yes — one quart-sized bag
Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol	2 litres	No
Manchester, Stansted, Luton, London City	100ml	No — liquids stay in your bag
Most EU airports	100ml	Yes — one transparent 1-litre bag
Dublin Airport	2 litres	No

If your trip touches more than one of those rows — and most international trips do — pack for the strictest one.

The United States has not changed anything

This is where most of the confusion in 2026 comes from. The 3-1-1 rule still applies at every US checkpoint: each container of liquid, gel, aerosol, cream or paste must hold 100ml (3.4oz) or less, all of them must fit inside a single clear quart-sized bag, and each passenger gets one such bag.

You have read that scanners are changing this. They are — but not in the way the headlines suggest. The US has been installing CT scanners, which build a 3D image of your bag, at major hubs. At a lane with one of these, you can leave your liquids bag and your laptop inside your carry-on rather than pulling them into a tray.

That is a change to the process, not to the limit. A 200ml bottle of sunscreen is confiscated at a CT lane exactly as it would be at an old X-ray lane. The scanner makes the queue faster. It does not make your shampoo legal.

One more detail people lose things to: the rule applies to the size of the container, not how much is left inside it. A 200ml bottle with two teaspoons of moisturiser remaining is still a 200ml bottle, and it still goes in the bin.

What actually counts as a liquid?

Far more than people expect, and this is where most confiscations happen. The working definition used at checkpoints is broad: if you can pour it, pump it, squeeze it or spread it, it is a liquid.

• Toothpaste, creams, and lotions — pastes count.
• Spreadable foods — peanut butter, hummus, jam, yoghurt and dips are all treated as liquids.
• Aerosols — dry shampoo, hairspray, spray sunscreen.
• Mascara, liquid foundation, liquid lipstick — but pressed powder, stick lipstick and solid concealer are not restricted.

The frozen-item rule is worth knowing because it is unusually literal. If an item is frozen completely solid when it reaches the scanner, it is screened as a solid and the volume limit does not apply. If any part of it has melted — if there is slush or a pool of liquid at the bottom — it reverts to being a liquid and must meet the container limit.

Is deodorant a liquid?

It depends entirely on the form, and this single question causes more checkpoint arguments than almost anything else in a toiletry bag.

Type of deodorant	Treated as	Restricted?
Solid stick	Solid	No — no volume limit
Gel	Liquid	Yes — must meet the container limit
Roll-on	Liquid	Yes
Aerosol spray	Aerosol	Yes

A solid stick travels free. Everything else in the deodorant aisle counts against your allowance.

Aerosols, powders, and the rules people miss

Aerosols are permitted in US carry-on baggage so long as each can meets the same 100ml container limit. Flammable and hazardous sprays are prohibited in cabin and checked baggage alike regardless of size.

Powder cosmetics — pressed powder, blush, bronzer, powder foundation — are not treated as liquids in the US and can be packed freely in either bag.

Medication, baby formula, and the exemptions

Medically necessary liquids — prescription and over-the-counter liquid medication — are permitted in quantities above the container limit, in reasonable amounts for the trip. You must declare them to the officer at the start of screening; they are screened with a bottle liquid scanner rather than opened. No doctor's note is required, but keeping the original pharmacy label on the bottle makes the conversation shorter.

Infant items — breast milk, formula, toddler drinks and baby food may exceed the limit in reasonable quantities and do not need to fit inside the clear bag. Ice packs and freezer packs to keep them cold are also permitted. You do not need to have the child with you to carry breast milk.

Both exemptions require the same thing: declare the items at the checkpoint rather than letting the scanner find them.

The limit is not the same everywhere — and the map keeps changing

Heathrow completed CT scanner rollout across all four terminals in January 2026. Passengers can carry containers of up to 2 litres, with no clear bag required. Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bristol publish the same 2-litre limit on their passenger security pages.

Several other UK airports have not. Manchester, Stansted, Luton and London City still publish a 100ml per-container limit. At Manchester, Stansted and Luton, CT scanners mean you no longer remove liquids from your bag — but the 100ml volume cap remains in force under Department for Transport rules.

The EU default remains 100ml per container in one transparent resealable bag not exceeding 1 litre. Dublin Airport is a verified exception: containers up to 2 litres, no clear bag, liquids stay in your bag. Other EU airports may differ — check your departure airport's own security page before you pack.

An honest caveat: UK airports are being certified airport by airport. The presence of a modern-looking scanner does not tell you the volume limit. Check the airport you are actually standing in.

The two mistakes that cost people their toiletries

Assuming the rule travels with you. If you depart Heathrow with a 500ml bottle of shampoo under the 2-litre rule and fly home from an airport still on 100ml, that bottle is confiscated on the return leg. Pack for the strictest airport on your itinerary.

Duty-free on a connection. Liquids bought airside are exempt from the limit if they are sealed in a tamper-evident bag with the receipt visible. If your journey includes a connection where you clear security again, that sealed bag can be challenged. Buy duty-free at your final departure airport if you are connecting.

At airports with new CT scanners, vacuum flasks and insulated metal bottles must be emptied before screening, because the double wall blocks the scanner from seeing inside. This applies even where the 2-litre rule is in force.

How to pack so you never lose anything

Pack for 100ml unless you have personally confirmed otherwise for the airport you are departing from, on the day you are departing. If your airport turns out to be a 2-litre airport, you have lost nothing. If you gambled on a relaxed rule and the lane you are directed to is still running the old system, you lose the item.

Keep the clear bag even where it is no longer required. It costs nothing, and it means a lane change does not turn into a bin.

If your itinerary also crosses a border that needs pre-approval, check electronic travel authorisation rules for the UK ETA, ETIAS and ESTA before you fly.