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Luggage
Hold luggage
For safety reasons, the following items cannot be taken on to an aircraft. Please do not pack them in any luggage, hand or hold.
- Flammable liquids and solids.
- Oxidisers such as bleaching powders.
- Organic peroxides.
- Tear gas devices or any gas cylinders.
- Infectious substances such as live virus materials.
- Wet-cell car batteries.
- Magnetrons.
- Instruments containing mercury.
- Instruments containing magnets.
- Fireworks and pyrotechnics.
- Non-safety matches.
- Fire lighters, lighter fuel, paints, thinners.
- Poisons, arsenic, cyanide, weedkiller.
- Radioactive materials, acids, corrosives, alkalis, caustic soda.
- Creosote, quicklime, oiled paper.
- Vehicle fuel system components which have contained fuel.
- Ammunition, detonators, blasting caps, mines, grenades, and related equipment and any other explosives.
- Smoke canisters and smoke cartridges.
Your hold luggage (items that you check-in) must be below a certain weight and size. Please check with your airline for more information.
It is an offence to carry any of the following items into the aircraft cabin:
- Acid
- Billiard, snooker or pool cues
- Builder's tools
- Catapults and sling-shots
- Darts
- Explosives
- Gas cartridges, or gas cartridge re-fills
- Hammers, nails or screw-drivers
- Hypodermic syringes (unless supported by medical evidence)
- Knives with blades more than 6cm
- Lighter fuel
- Lighter top-up fuel (passengers are allowed to carry one disposable lighter in a clear re-sealable plastic bag)
- Mercury
- Paint*
- Razor blades
- Scissors - specifically blades measuring greater than 6cm in length
- Sporting bats
- Toy or replica guns (plastic or metal)
- Umbrellas - unless foldable
*Artists' acrylic, oil or watercolour paint is permitted as long as the individual container contains no more than 100ml. Normal liquid bag rules then apply, as detailed below.
Miscellaneous luggage
Baggage that is larger or heavier than normal must be checked in separately from your hold luggage.
Packing tips
To avoid bags becoming jammed on the conveyor belt, please ensure that:
- All loose straps are tied up or removed.
- All flaps are securely fastened.
- Extendable handles are retracted or secured.
- Old tags and barcodes are removed.
When deciding what to pack and what to carry as hand baggage, please bear the following in mind:
- Don’t wrap gifts. Security staff may wish to examine them, so may unwrap them.
- Never carry anything on to an aircraft for anyone else.
Hand luggage security rules
For more information about hand luggage and going through security, please see our dedicated Security page
If under 100ml and in a transparent re-sealable plastic bag, passengers are permitted to take liquids, gels and pastes through security separately from their hand baggage.
It is best to prepare your liquid bag - no larger than 20cm x 20cm and not exceeding one litre - before arrival at Manchester Airport. They are however available if you forget to bring your own, though there is a limit of one liquid bag per passenger. The bag must be one litre, which is around half the size of a standard A4 piece of paper, and it must be sealable.
What is a liquid?
- Water and other drinks, soups, syrups
- Pastes, including toothpaste
- Creams, lotions and oils, including moisturiser
- Perfumes
- Make-up, including mascara
- Sprays, including sun-tan lotion
- Inhalers
- Gels, including hair and shower gels
- Contents of pressurised containers, including shaving foam, other foams and deodorants
- Liquid-solid mixtures
- Any other item of a similar consistency
Lipsticks, lip balms and stick deodorants are not classed as liquids.
Always check in any liquid over 100ml and if you're unsure whether an item will be allowed through, please always check it in with your hold luggage.
Liquids in containers larger than 100ml generally cannot go through security even if the container is only part full. There are some exemptions.
Please note - if you wish to bring your own containers to hold 100ml or less, the container must have printed on it the measurement that the container can hold. Travel sets of containers that do not have measurements on them will not be allowed through security. Handwritten measurements or stickers are also not acceptable.
Laptops and other electrical equipment (iPads, hairdryers, straighteners, large speakers, large cameras, docking stations, irons) have to be removed from hand luggage and screened separately.
If you’re flying to the USA, please ensure that electrical devices are charged and capable of being switched on. Any passengers with specific queries about their individual flight should check with their airline for more detailed information.
Electronics ban – inbound flights
In line with the government announcement regarding all UK airports, electronic items larger than 16 x 9.3 x 1.5 cm will not be allowed into the cabin of flights coming into Manchester Airport from:
- Turkey (except flights from Antalya, Bodrum, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen or Izmir airports)
- Egypt (except flights from Luxor, Hurghada or Marsa Alam airports)
- Saudi Arabia
These items must go into the hold and passengers are advised to liaise with their airline on how to facilitate this.
This will only affect passengers flying into Manchester from these countries, and not any departing from here. It will however affect passengers’ return journey, when they come back into Manchester Airport.
For more information, please visit here.
Baby foods
When travelling with a baby, you’re allowed to take enough baby food, baby milk and sterilised water for the journey. In some cases this will be over 100ml.
You can carry breast milk in hand luggage even if you’re not travelling with a baby. You can’t carry frozen breast milk in hand luggage.
Individual containers of breast milk must hold no more than 2,000ml. Each container will need to be screened at the security point.
| Item | Allowed in hand luggage | Allowed in hold luggage |
| Breast milk | Yes, in containers up to 2,000ml | Yes |
| Frozen breast milk | No | Yes |
| Formula milk, cow’s milk | Yes (baby must be present) | Yes |
| Sterilised water for the baby | Yes (baby must be present) | Yes |
| Soya milk for babies | Yes (baby must be present) | Yes |
| Baby food | Yes (baby must be present) | Yes |
| Cooling gel packs | Yes | Yes |
A baby is considered to be 0-36 months old.
Medicines
A passenger may take prescription medication in containers over 100ml through security, provided that they have a prescription or doctor's note for the medication. The passenger may only carry through security the quantity of liquid medication that is required for their journey.
Passengers will be able to buy liquids including drinks and perfumes in duty free and other stores after security control, or on-board the aircraft. If they are sold in a special sealed bag, passengers must not open them before they are screened otherwise the contents may be confiscated at the security checkpoint.
Food items and powders in your hand luggage can obstruct images on x-ray machines. Your bags may need to be checked again manually by security. You can put these items in your hold luggage to minimise delays.