Staff at Manchester Airport, the UK's third busiest airport, confiscated nearly 100 items from passengers' carry-on luggage in a single morning earlier in July, prompting a warning about security delays.
Items seized included a handgun-shaped whiskey decanter, two multipacks of yoghurt, a leg massager, 24 packs of cosmetic products, seven drinks bottles, and seven food items. Also confiscated were 12 pairs of scissors, seven corkscrews, four knives, six packs of tools, two chisels, a pair of pliers, 10 toy guns or firearm-like items, a baseball bat, and a leg massager.
Security delays and CAA rules
Sakib Mahmood, security duty manager at Manchester Airport's Terminal 2, said: 'We're looking forward to welcoming millions of passengers to Manchester Airport this summer. We're proud of the role we play in getting people's journeys off to the right start, and more than 97 per cent of our passengers are getting through security checks in under 15 minutes.'
'But each time we have to pull a bag aside for a manual search it can take several minutes, and that can quickly start to add up and create delays - not just for the passenger with a non-compliant item in their hand luggage, but also for those waiting behind them in the queue. The range of items confiscated here in just a few hours shows what our security officers are up against every day – but when it comes to working out what is restricted and what is not, we know some items are more obvious than others.'
Mahmood advised passengers to reacquaint themselves with the rules before packing hand luggage to save time and avoid losing items. He added that many restricted items can be taken in hold luggage instead.
Liquid restrictions and prohibited items
Most confiscations were due to non-compliance with liquid restrictions, which require containers of 100ml or less. The 100ml limit remains in place at most UK airports, including Manchester, pending CAA approval to remove restrictions after installing new 3D scanning technology.
Items like children's squishy toys and souvenir snow globes may inadvertently break the rule. Liquid medications over 100ml are exempt with a prescription label, and breast milk up to 2L is allowed.
Sharp objects or blades longer than 6cm are prohibited in hand luggage. Gun-shaped items, including toys that could be mistaken for real firearms, are also banned. Large electrical items no longer need removal from bags due to new 3D scanners, but belts, watches, and pocket items should be removed before body scanners.
Items with lithium batteries, such as power banks, vapes, and tablets, must be packed in hand luggage due to fire risk. Passengers cannot carry more than two power banks per person, and these must not be recharged in flight.
