What counts as a 'solid liquid'
Airport security has a much wider definition of 'liquid' than you do. It includes anything that pours, sprays, smears, spreads or melts. That sweeps a lot of foods, toiletries and medicines into the 100ml rule even when they look solid on the shelf.
Spreadable & smearable rules
Pastes, spreads and soft solids get binned all the time. Peanut butter, Nutella, hummus, soft cheese, clotted cream, honey, jam, marmalade, baba ganoush, guacamole, chocolate spread — all liquids, all subject to the 100ml/1L bag rule in the cabin.
Why officers and scanners disagree
CT and X-ray scanners read density, not intent. A jar of honey shows up almost identically to a jar of olive oil. Officers then make a judgement call. That's why you can sail through Gatwick with a tub of hummus and lose the same tub at Manchester — same country, same rule, different humans.
Melting & consistency issues
A stick deodorant that's gone soft in your hot car is no longer a solid. A lip balm that re-solidified after melting still reads as a liquid on the scanner. Ice packs, frozen meals and ice-cream tubs are 'liquids in waiting' — once they start thawing, the rule kicks in.
Why rules vary by airport and country
Each national aviation regulator decides how to apply the global liquid rule, and each airport rolls out scanners at its own pace. The UK and EU are gradually enabling up to 2 litres at CT-scanner airports; the US, most of Asia and most of Africa are still strictly on 100ml. Pack to the stricter of your two airports.
Everyday grey-area examples
- Peanut butter — liquid (TSA explicitly classifies it)
- Deodorant — solid stick passes; gel, roll-on, spray and 'soft' sticks don't
- Hummus, guacamole, soft cheese — all liquids
- Honey & clotted cream — liquids, even when thick
- Lip balm — hard stick passes, pots and shiny glosses don't
- Toothpaste & mascara — always liquids, judged by tube size
- Gel makeup and cushion compacts — liquids
- Ice packs and frozen food — liquids in waiting
- Sunscreen — cream/gel/spray = liquid; solid sunscreen stick = solid
- Hair wax — officer's call; dry waxes pass more often than soft pomades
- CBD balm — double trouble: liquid-ish AND a legality check
How to pack so you don't lose anything
- If it's spreadable, smearable or pourable: 100ml or less in your liquids bag, or put it in checked baggage
- If you bought it duty-free, keep it in the sealed STEB with the receipt
- On a return trip, pack to the stricter of your two airports — usually 100ml
- Expensive or irreplaceable? Always check it in
- If a stick has gone soft in the heat, treat it as a liquid until it firms up
Trust & last verified
We rewrite this hub whenever a major regulator (TSA, UK DfT, EU EC) changes guidance, and we cross-check against the live rules data we maintain for every item and airport. Always check your departure airport before you fly.