Air passengers flout liquid ban

Passengers are ignoring restrictions on liquids

Security at Newcastle airport is being put under strain by passengers unaware of restrictions on carrying liquids onto flights.

Up to 30% of travellers at the airport attempt to carry liquids in quantities greater than 100ml through security search areas.

Items worth an average of £11,000 are removed from passengers' luggage each week, according to airport figures.

Those ignoring the rules contribute to unnecessary delays, said a spokesman.

Under current Department for Transport regulations, passengers may carry small quantities of liquids they have brought from home in their hand luggage, but only in separate containers, each no more than 100ml.

These containers must be brought to the airport inside a transparent, re-sealable plastic bag.

But the number of passengers falling foul of the regulations is causing a headache for staff, according to Newcastle Airport's security compliance manager, Kevin McNicholas.

Vintage champagne

He said: "This was a big enough issue for us during our quietest winter months, but now that the summer holiday season is in full swing, it's becoming a bigger and bigger administrative problem for us to manage.

"We clearly don't want passengers to have to part with valuable or personal items, and it also provides us with a waste management problem that we could well do without."

The simplest approach is for passengers to put any liquids into their suitcase and check it into the hold, he added.

The most commonly confiscated items are bottled soft drinks, water, suntan lotion, perfume, shampoo and toothpaste.

But items with a much higher monetary value are also being found in hand luggage, including a bottle of vintage champagne worth £175.

Passengers are advised to consult Department for Transport guidelines before travelling.