Heathrow Airport now lets you take your big shampoo as 100ml liquid limit is scrapped

Twenty years after the 100ml liquid airport rule was introduced, Heathrow has scrapped it.

You’ll now be able to take liquid containers up to 2L through security, and you won’t even have to remove them from your bag either.

It’s all thanks to a new security system in place at the airport, one that uses CT scanners to stop passengers from needing to decant their overpriced 100ml shower gels into a single transparent plastic sack.

“Every Heathrow passenger can now leave their liquids and laptops in their bags at security as we become the largest airport in the world to roll out the latest security scanning technology,” says Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow Airport chief exec.

Is it the end of a minor headache for holiday-goers? Not entirely. While you won’t have to go through the hand luggage tango on the way out from Heathrow, there is, of course, no guarantee of what you’ll need to do on the way back.

Heathrow isn’t the first London airport to get this tech, or to loosen the liquid rules. Gatwick removed the need to remove liquids from your hand luggage around April 2025. And the capacity rose from 100ml to two litres in late 2025.

The relatively blissful London City Airport security had its CT scanners in action back in 2023. But while it did raise its liquid limit from 100ml to two litres as a result, the max actually came back down to 100ml in June 2024.

Heathrow’s tech upgrade apparently clocked in at a billion pounds, which included kitting out all of the airport’s security terminals.

“This billion-pound investment means our customers can be confident they will continue to have a great experience at Heathrow,” says Woldbye.

According to the airport’s own stats, December 2025 marked Heathrow’s busiest final month of the year ever, with 7.2 million passengers moving through the airport. And 84 million across the whole year.

• Méribel Après-Ski: how a terrace, a band and a cold beer rewired my ski trips forever

Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!