London Luton’s liquid rules still cap every hand-luggage liquid at 100ml per container — a figure BBC News has also reported. That limit has not changed since the airport installed CT scanners in July 2024.
The one real change is that passengers no longer need to place liquids in a clear plastic bag. Breast milk, prescribed liquid medicine with proof, and anything bought after security are the main exemptions.
London Luton Airport is easy to misread. Every security lane has been fitted with next-generation CT security scanners since July 2024. But the hand-luggage liquid limit is still 100ml per container.
The Department for Transport (DfT) continues to require that cap, even though the scanners are running.
That gap between installed capability and retained restriction is the reason this dated record exists. Luton has not published a roadmap for moving to a 2-litre allowance, and no official document puts a date on when — or whether — the cap will change. The only firmly dated milestone is the scanner fit-out.
Luton airport liquid rules 2026: what applies right now
When checked on 27 September 2026 against London Luton’s live security guidance and the UK government’s liquids rules, the airport’s published instructions were unchanged. Each liquid, gel or aerosol in hand luggage must be in a container of 100ml or less. Liquid containers must stay packed inside the hand luggage during screening at London Luton Airport.
Luton airport 100ml rule and its exemptions
The 100ml cap is not a local trial or a temporary setting. It is a national requirement that London Luton applies at its checkpoints, and it holds regardless of how modern the screening equipment is.
The main exemptions are narrow. Expressed breast milk may exceed 100ml, provided no single container exceeds two litres. Prescribed liquid medications can pass through security with valid documentary proof, such as a formal prescription or a GP’s confirmation.
Liquids bought after clearing security are not subject to the 100ml limit, so anything purchased in departures can go on the plane regardless of size.
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Luton airport liquid rules change: what changed, and when
What changed at Luton is the scanning hardware and the bag requirement. By July 2024, next-generation CT security scanners had been installed in every security lane. Luton’s own announcements confirm that date, and they also repeated that government restrictions kept containers capped at 100ml.
What did not change is the volume limit. The official records reviewed carry no separate Luton-specific date for when the 100ml cap was confirmed to stay or reinstated. The clear plastic bag step has also been removed, though Luton’s records reviewed here do not attach a separate date to that change.
The Department for Transport’s national messaging told airports to install the equipment and said the limit would one day rise to 2 litres, while telling passengers to keep checking their own airport’s rules.
Why the CT scanners don’t rewrite the 100ml rule
A CT scanner renders the contents of a cabin bag as a three-dimensional image. That lets staff and automated systems examine liquids and electronics without removing them from the bag. The change is to how a bag is inspected — it does not alter the rules the airport is bound by.
A bottle can stay in the bag while the scanner maps it in three dimensions, and it is still not allowed to hold more than 100ml. Even in its October 2024 update, the airport described every lane as CT-equipped while restating the government’s 100ml restriction.
Aviation security policy is set nationally by the Department for Transport. An airport can only run the checkpoint configuration and permissions it has been authorised for, so installing the machines is not the same as being cleared to use them for larger containers.
What this means for you at the security lane
Pack each liquid, gel or aerosol in a container of 100ml or less. Keep those containers inside your hand luggage at screening — there is no need for a clear plastic bag under Luton’s current rules. If you need to carry breast milk or prescribed liquid medicine above 100ml, bring the correct proof and check container sizes before travel.
For anything you are unsure about, buying it after security avoids the cap entirely.
Do not read the CT scanners as a sign that a 2-litre allowance has quietly begun. It has not, and Luton has published no date for one.
Key terms
- CT security scanner
- A CT security scanner is an X-ray machine that builds a three-dimensional image of the contents of a cabin bag. Because it renders objects in 3D, screening staff and automated systems can inspect liquids and electronics while they stay packed inside the bag. The scanners change how a bag is inspected, not the rules an airport is authorised to apply — which is why Luton’s CT rollout did not by itself lift its container cap.
- Department for Transport (DfT)
- The Department for Transport is the UK government department responsible for aviation security policy. It sets the national framework that airports, including London Luton, must follow at their checkpoints. Its guidance tells passengers to follow the rules of the airport they are departing from, which is why Luton’s own published instructions are the ones that apply at its lanes.
- 2-litre allowance
- The 2-litre allowance is the proposed hand-luggage liquid limit under which containers of up to two litres would be permitted through security. The Department for Transport first held out the prospect of raising the 100ml cap to 2 litres in its December 2022 announcement, alongside a June 2024 deadline for installing new scanners. Adoption is a per-airport decision rather than an automatic entitlement, so having the equipment installed does not mean the larger limit is in force.
Questions? Answers.
Is London Luton Airport going to move to a 2-litre liquid allowance?
London Luton has not published a date for moving to a 2-litre allowance. Every security lane had CT scanners by July 2024, but the Department for Transport still requires the 100ml limit.
Do I still need a clear plastic bag for liquids at Luton?
No. Passengers at London Luton Airport no longer need to place liquids in clear plastic bags at security.
Can I take breast milk or prescribed liquid medicine over 100ml through Luton security?
Yes, within limits. Expressed breast milk may exceed 100ml provided no single container exceeds two litres. Prescribed liquid medications may pass through security with valid documentary proof, such as a formal prescription or a GP’s confirmation.
