The 100-millilitre rule for hand luggage at airport security isn’t the most annoying thing in the world, but it’s definitely an inconvenience. It’s particularly bothersome for short-haul trips. After all, everyone needs toiletries but no one really wants to have to pay for hold luggage just to transport them.
Plus, brands make a killing from selling mini hand luggage-ready toiletries – and, to make matters worse, all that plastic can’t be great for the environment (there’s a reason why hotels across Europe are banning tiny toiletries). But this could all soon be set to change. From the end of 2023, air travellers in Spain might not be subject to a 100ml hand-luggage limit.
The rule changes come as a result of fancy new 3D scanners, which can detect banned substances even in large containers. It’ll mean that travellers will be allowed to transport liquids, gels and aerosols larger than 100ml in their hand-luggage. And it isn’t just liquids that’ll benefit from the new scanners. Travellers also won’t have to take electronics out of their bags to head through security.
The new scanners (and therefore the new liquid rules) will be rolled out gradually across Spain, with the country’s busiest airports getting the changes first. Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat are set to get them from the end of 2023.
Following those, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga-Costa del Sol are expected to get the scanners in 2025, while Alicante, Bilbao, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Menorca, Tenerife and Valencia will see the change in 2026.
Spain isn’t the only country getting rid of liquids limits, either. The UK has also committed to similar changes, saying that most UK airports will have ditched the 100ml limit by June 2024.
Just think: no more debates with security about whether lip balm and hair gel count as liquids! Here’s to hoping that the upcoming changes in airport security in Spain and the UK will soon be rolled out far and wide.
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