Heathrow Security

In T5 it was installing new machines last October. Based on my December experience I can’t say it made the security process any quicker.

Not having to take stuff out and repack it made a difference in my opinion. But I thought the liquids things was postponed at Heathriw and temporarily canceled at the airports in England that had it.

We were at Heathrow Terminal 5 this week. We were not required to take liquids out of our bag. Security took about 10-15 minutes total. I considered that pretty smooth and quick. Safe travels.

Remember that in Great Britain, lipstick, chapstick, anything along those lines are liquids.

Heathrow has slowly started to re-introduce the more advanced security machines.

I went through three weeks ago. I was stopped because they said I had liquids in the bag. I said I didn't as I know what's in my bag. The security officer said she would be surprised if she didn't find any liquids.

She didn't find any liquids.

Terminal 3 LHR May 10th on connecting flight not required to remove anything from carry-on. What a gift

I've never had a problem with chapstick (really lip balm) at LHR.

From the LHR website: https://www.heathrow.com/customer-support/faq/faq-security
Not Considered a liquid:
Solid lipstick
Stick deoderant

All these items are considered liquids:

Drinks, soup and yoghurt
Pastes and puréed food
Formula milk (special rules apply for breast milk)
Shaving foam
Toothpaste
Roll-on deodorant
Atomisers, sprays
Creams
Gels
Toothpaste

Not to say that the rules don't change - or an individual agent can interpret things differently. However, I'm curious as to the source for the statement above "Remember that in Great Britain, lipstick, chapstick, anything along those lines are liquids." My read is that they are "liquid" only if in gel form.

I went through LHR Terminal 2 security a few weeks back and security at Edinburgh. Lots of signs stating don't take liquids out of the suitcase/carry-on as well as lots of verbal instructions from security personnel.

I had three tubes of chapstick in my backpack pocket that did not attract any attention, again, just this week.

From ORDtraveler’s link:
“Laptops, tablets and Kindles may remain in your cabin baggage, but you will be asked to remove them to put them through the x-ray machine.”
So funny how they worded that…
They can stay in your carry-on but must be taken out.

At some checkpoints they have the new machines, yes. I went through a screening area at LHR T3 that had every lane with the new scanners. I also tried out one at T2 in Dec 2023. Overall it was nice to not have the normal hassle of taking liquids and electrical items out of your bag. I was through within about 2 minutes or so. I think about half the UK airports have completed the process of upgrading airport security (LGW, EDI, LCY, NCL, LTN, among others). But LHR has been a bit behind due to the re-flooring needed to accommodate the larger weight of the CT scanners. Hopefully they get this done sooner rather than later.

@ORDTraveler. What U.S. TSA considers a liquid may not be consistent with other countries requirements. This made national news when a woman's lipstick was taken at Heathrow. Sounds like the Heathrow security person should not have taken the lipstick, but apparently, in Birmingham, U.K., lipstick is a liquid. . .

https://www.fodors.com/news/news/tsa-airport-security-can-confiscate-lipstick

At this point, I'm extra cautious because the rules seem to change frequently, and in the end, the security agent is always right.

Even in the U.S., the rules on hiking poles have changed multiple times.

I had posted the above link to the forum back in 2023. From the experiences people provided, in practice, its not completely clear what will happen with lipsticks and other similar substances. For me, I've decided that its just not worth arguing or even having a discussion with the security personnel. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/lipstick-is-a-liquid

I have a close friend who is an attorney for TSA. I completely get that it is a difficult job.