Make sure to read airport rules before you travel this season.
The Liquids Rule at airports causes many passengers to scratch their heads. Even the most seasoned travelers are sometimes stumped. In a recent TikTok video, a woman claims that her unused lipsticks, worth £90, were confiscated by Heathrow airport security staff, and it left her understandably enraged.
Shadia Black was traveling from London Heathrow Terminal 2 with hand luggage when airport security stopped her. In the video, Black explains that the security staff told her she had too many liquids and she alleges that security wanted to confiscate her Estée Lauder face serum and face cleanser. She was also carrying lipsticks, which were also considered liquid by the staff. As all the products combined didn’t fit into the clear bag that security provided, she had to leave without those lipsticks.
@shadiablack I am truly shocked by the unprofessional behavior of the manager and worker I came into contact with today. I think this is unfair and unacceptable #viral #statement #needed#fyp #foryou ♬ Originalton – Shadia Black
According to Black, all her products were travel-sized and she had traveled with them previously. But security at Heathrow was clear: “We don’t care what you came with, but when you’re leaving you have to follow the policy.”
She claimed that security is “brutally robbing people” because they kept her products aside and didn’t trash them.
Heathrow told MailOnline that nothing is reused when it’s confiscated. “Our security colleagues are trained to apply the standards set down by the DfT [Department for Transport] for all U.K. airports on what items can and can’t be taken airside. Any items that are confiscated are safely disposed of.”
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MailOnline also reported that Heathrow redirected Black to the airport’s Mail and Fly service, which is used to reunite people with any of their confiscated things.
Different Airports, Different Rules
The U.K doesn’t have a standard liquid rule regarding lipsticks. At Heathrow, from which the TikTok influencer was departing, lipstick is, in fact, considered a solid. But at Birmingham Airport, it is considered liquid, so it would need to fit into a clear bag along with other items.
In the United States, as per the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), lipsticks are allowed both in carry-on and checked bags without restrictions.
Solid stick lipstick is allowed in carry-on bags and doesn’t need to be packed in your liquids bag. However, gel or liquid lipstick must be 3.4oz or less & placed in your quart-sized liquids bag. For more info, pls see our blog at: https://t.co/jffOt6aob5
— AskTSA (@AskTSA) November 22, 2023
The TSA confirmed via X, formerly Twitter, that “Solid stick lipstick is allowed in carry-on bags and doesn’t need to be packed in your liquids bag. However, gel or liquid lipstick must be 3.4oz or less & placed in your quart-sized liquids bag.”
Similarly, mascara and nail polish need to be under 3.4 oz. However, the TSA website warns, “Even if an item is generally permitted, it may be subject to additional screening or not allowed through the checkpoint if it triggers an alarm during the screening process, appears to have been tampered with, or poses other security concerns.”
Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going.com, says that understanding security limits can be tricky, especially when traveling internationally. In her experience, the U.K. is stringent with carry-on allotments. “You must have a small, clear plastic bag to hold your gels, creams, [and] pastes, yet in the [United States] we don’t require a clear bag necessarily.”
Agents may also confiscate items that are technically allowed, she adds, because they may not be trained on that particular item.
Related: Is the U.S. About to Change Its Liquid Rule on Flights?
What Can You Do if Airport Security Incorrectly Takes Your Things?
Black insinuated that her unopened cosmetic products were not destroyed and they may have been kept aside for the personal use of security agents. There have been incidents reported when airport security has stolen from passengers. In September, released surveillance footage provided evidence of security agents in Miami taking items out of passengers’ luggage surreptitiously. “This leaves the traveling public skeptical and weary about going through security checkpoints,” says Nastro, “which is disappointing since it’s really some rotten apples overshadowing the work of thousands of agents who abide by the rules.”
The liquid rule is complicated territory, but what’s even murkier is when cash raises flags. Nastro explains that the U.S. doesn’t have a limit on cash while traveling domestically, but there have been incidents when agents have alerted law enforcement about large sums even though no law was broken.
International travelers are required to declare currency worth more than $10,000 to Border Protection.
“If you suspect something is stolen, file a complaint immediately with the TSA, but be aware this may take up to six months to fully investigate. Also, some airports have private security screening and would require you to contact the company directly.”
If your item was left at a security check or was missing from your bag, you can also contact Lost & Found to claim your things. TSA says around 100,000 items are left behind at security checkpoints each month and it makes every effort to reunite people with them. “Lost and found items retained by TSA for a minimum of thirty (30) days, and if not claimed, are either destroyed, turned over to a state agency for surplus property, or sold by TSA as excess property.”
To be able to retrieve lost items, you need to describe the item and its color, and any other information to identity it, and you also need to mention when it was lost.
It sounds as some LHR agent was taking a power trip over this traveller... Aren't there any supervisors to whom one couuld refer to in a situation like that?
How can a solid lipstick be considered liquid?
What kind of training one needs to complete to know the difference?
What is going on in Birmigham and why the rules there are different from those at Heathrow?
When in doubt - just avoid UK...;-))
I recently traveled through Heathrow on the way back home to US. They confiscated my 3.4 ounce contact lense solution which the US considers it "medicine". They also took my empty water bottle that I planned to fill with water once I got through security. Maybe they have gotten stricter since the war in Israel. I don't know but next time I will avoid Heathrow like the plague!
Firstly, this very old rule is stupid and continued only because it has generated a huge income in security, travel accessories, 'skip the line' companies etc. Secondly, it penalizes women who use liquid makeup and hygiene products unnecessarily. Thirdly, a quart bag? Seriously? Again, a money maker since you then have to check a bag. In addition to the kindergarten sized seats, cheap snacks, cancellations, delays....