TSA Quart bags

I haven't seen a quart bag in a couple of years.

TBH, I am Canadian and our securities doesn't like designed bags for liquids. I have read and hear others having to move their liquids to provided zip lock bags through some European airports.
I just pack my pliable makeup bag with all but liquids and move liquids to a store brand litre kitchen bag....or one of the airport security bags. It fits more easily into my ready access pockets.
It may all depend where you are traveling.

Where are you flying to?

I'm asking because when I transited thru Paris last Fall (Seattle to Milan) the security guys were holding ziplock bags and having folks transfer things in their 3-1-1- bags to the ziplocks if they were in other pouches - even if the pouches were clear and the correct size.

Years ago I had the same thing happen when leaving out of Heathrow - the guy monitoring the security line was handing them to everyone as they went by. He OK'd my Ziplock freezer bag. I've not been thru there since Covid so no current knowledge there.

I had trouble at Heathrow with a pretty normal quart plastic bag with one of those sliders at the top. They made me put everything inside one of their plastic bags. I don’t think I’d spend money on any kind of ”special” bag, particularly if it appears different from your run-of-the-mill ziploc bags.

At Heathrow they will give you the bags you have to use, they are quite insistent. And there are many many signs regarding what has to go into said bags (including Chap Stick, which I thought was odd).

Heathrow's bags are good as they have handles. I put my toiletries in one and then put the whole thing in a reusable bag for protection against spills.

They always give it a look, I point out "their" bag inside, and I'm given the OK.

Just make sure the bag you get is completely clear. And be prepared to move everything to a disposable bag.

I have exactly that bag for my toiletries. I have been through security in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin twice each with it, plus Copenhagen and Florence, and it has not been a problem. I have TSA precheck so I never have to take my toiletries bag out at a domestic airport.
I did not have that bag when I went through security at LHR last March, and if you didn't have your toiletries in a quart plastic bag, there were bags with handles available to use. There was no one insisting that everyone had to move their toiletries from their bag into the ones provided at security. My toiletries were in a regular quart baggie and they went through without incident.
Incidentally, sometime in 2024 the UK is planning to eliminate the '100ml in a quart bag' rule.

I haven't separated my toiletries or taken them out for inspection in years. Are we really still supposed to be doing that?

I just use a quart baggie (store brand). We've had no trouble at Heathrow with that bag.

Oh, in response to Astorienne, yes, all liquids and gels are supposed to go into the 3-1-1 bag. I saw a woman in Nice lose about 5 or 6 bottles or jars of toiletries. Not only were they not separated out, but they were full-sized. The woman just shrugged and looked sheepish as the security officer unloaded her carry-on.

Astorienne, yes. As mentioned I transited through CDG in Sept 2022 and everyone had to put liquids in a ziplock and have it in a bin. I exited through FCO in Rome and don’t remember what they wanted except I was wearing my Apple Watch and they wanted that in the bin thru the scanner so had to send it thru separately. Can’t remember what they wanted when I transited in Atlanta after Passport Control.

And I observed something similar to Jane in Paris. The lady ahead had to dump a yogurt and dig 2 bottles of fruit juice out of her purse at security. As she walked to the trash the security guy looked at me and rolled his eyes.

At my local airport in Spokane WA it varies. I’ve flown out of there in Sept 2022, Feb 2022, Oct 2021. Different rules each time. Sometimes liquids out, sometimes not. Sometimes food out, sometimes not. Sometimes iPad Mini out, sometimes not.

I’m always ready to pull out my liquids, food and electronics by having them separated, bagged together and handy either in the top access pocket in my carry on or in my personal item.

@Jane, I saw a teenager in the screening line at the Stuttgart airport pull three full-sized jars of Nutella out of his backpack and drop them in the trash. I know that had to hurt!

Those of us with PreCheck are spoiled not having to pull liquids out here in the US, but coming back from various European airports, even though I always pull out my stand-up clear bag, I've had to put stuff in their "special" ziplock. Sarcasm.

Mind is pretty much like this one: https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/packism-clear-toiletry-bags-amazon

@Celeste, I have Global Entry so always get Pre-Check on my way out but yes, I still have to pull out liquids at my local airport at times. And as mentioned, sometimes food and electronics.

I just pull a quart size zip lock bag out of the drawer. Works everywhere (including Heathrow) without any difficulty.

A pet peeve of mine is people who wait until they are actually in the security line to start thinking about these things. It slows it down for everyone. I understand if you don’t fly frequently, etc., but can there really be that many first time flyers out there that don’t know how to pack for security?

I use a clear toiletries pouch by Tom Bihn for my toiletries and it's always passed muster at domestic airports and several in Europe. But as several people noted above, I had to swap everything out for a clear zip lock bag at CDG (which they provided). So after that, if I'm flying internationally, I always put my liquids in a plain zip lock quart bag and keep everything else in the Tom Bihn bag. Once I'm away from the airport, I move the liquids to my TB toiletries bag for convenience, but keep the zip lock bag for the return flight home.

Even though the the TB bag is 98% clear (the only solid fabric is the binding and the bottom), it does not pass muster at CDG (and probably other airports like Heathrow).

Check your pockets twice before going through security. I had a joint once in my pocket and literally discovered and threw it away at the last second. I'll be doggoned if I checked that pocket more than once, but the joint was in a fold in the fabric. I wonder if I would have been caught?

I was in London and Paris in September. Flying from Canada to London, I had no problem s with my specially made liquid bag. However when I flew home from Paris, I had to empty it and put everything in a plain ziploc bag.

We are flying Detroit to Munich MUC, then Vienna VIE - Paris CDG - Detroit. We also have TSA Pre-check but this will be our maiden voyage using the pre-check system. We don't have Global Entry.

We are flying Detroit to Munich MUC, then Vienna VIE - Paris CDG - Detroit. We also have TSA Pre-check but this will be our maiden voyage using the pre-check system. We don't have Global Entry.

Melissa, what everyone is trying to say is that you will probably be okay with the TSA pre-check in the US, but since you are flying internationally (especially through CDG), it's going to be safer and easier to pack your liquids in a regular ziploc quart-size bag. TSA and Global Entry are only for US airports - European airports don't care whether you have those or not.

I agree with Mardee and will add that in your transit thru CDG you will go thru Exit Passport Control and thru Security again before you get on your international flight.

I've also found that when coming back into the US after you go thru Passport Control and Customs (which is a bigger deal in the US than in Europe) the Pre-check lanes were not available going back thru security to re-enter the terminal. (Atlanta, Seattle and SLC).

editing to add: I've also seen several travel bloggers flog the Stasher bags recently and they keep coming up in my FB feed, presumably because I've looked at them.

I brought a Stasher bag on my most recent trip, but did not use it for liquids. I usually bring a few ziplocks, and brought the stasher to be a bit more responsible with my ziplock use.

Brought a cheese home in it, without incident.

A word about reusable silicone bags from my wife. They are a pain to clean, even running through the dishwasher. It does not matter how you stack it in the DW, they fall over, get a bunch of soapy water in them, and then have to be hand rinsed and scrubbed anyway. We both want to do better for the environment, but our Stashers are not really satisfactory replacements for our plastics.

I will say, I've been using the same quart bag for my liquids for about five years now. It lives in my bag, with my travel/trial sized shaving cream and post shave lotion in it. They only come out for travel, along with a roll of floss, a Dollar Shave Club razor that I don't love, a nail clipper that I got just for travel, etc. That floss is the floss we used to use, before it was discontinued, and might be the last roll of that floss in existence. Oddly enough, as we've been using other flosses in the intervening years, neither one of us really like that floss anymore. People are weird, me and my wife especially.

Celeste--I have that same clear bag and have been using it for about 6-7 years now.

I have Global as well as Clear and have never had to pull out my liquids stateside. Overseas, yes every time since these are US programs. I fly often, out of SEA and most of the time into OAK and I will say neither one is very consistent. Sometimes they make me take my watch off, other times no. If my boots set off the thing at SEA, they make me take them off but at OAK they look at me and wave me through. Last week we signed closing documents right before our flight so were fingerprinted. At the airport they had me go through twice and then said I needed additional screening. I can only assume from what was left on my hand. They had me go through the machine where you stand with your legs apart and hands in the air. That was the extend of the additional screening. I just always know to expect the unexpected;)

@ Max - many thanks to your wife for the intel on cleaning them. If I got them I'd probably use them for food as well so it's good to know they are a PIA to clean!

That is good to know, Max - they look inviting but I hate to clean plastic bags (although I do) so I'd probably hate cleaning these as well! I use glass jars to store food - very easy to clean. Although somehow I don't think the TSA would consider glass an acceptable substitute for a quart size ziplock bag! 🤣

Staggers are listed as acceptable in the US and I just used one on a domestic flight without incident

Posted by Laura

I had trouble at Heathrow with a pretty normal quart plastic bag with
one of those sliders at the top. They made me put everything inside
one of their plastic bags. I don’t think I’d spend money on any kind
of ”special” bag, particularly if it appears different from your
run-of-the-mill ziploc bags.

What do they do if you just stuff your normal Ziploc/Hefty/whatever brand quart bag into one of their bags?

I wouldn't re-bag if mine would fit inside of theirs. Waste of time.

khansen, that is what I did. I just stuffed my own plastic bag inside one of Heathrow’s plastic bags. It was a waste of time and plastic (and I was very surprised they made me do this).

Laura

khansen, that is what I did. I just stuffed my own plastic bag inside
one of Heathrow’s plastic bags. It was a waste of time and plastic
(and I was very surprised they made me do this).

So now you have a free, nicer bag with handles.

You could do that every trip and sell them on Ebay!

Flew out of Heathrow in March snd June. the plastic bags did not have handles.

I just confirmed this because I actually took a couple of extras so that I can pre-pack for my next trip so I don’t have to do it standing there at security.😂

Last year flying out of Paris, I was stopped because of my zippered liquid bag. I had to empty it and repack everything into a ziploc bag they provided. It had been fine for flying out of Canada!