Can whisky go in hand luggage?

Whisky is allowed in hand luggage, but only in containers of at most 100 millilitres, and these must all fit together in a transparent resealable bag of at most 1 litre.

The rule applies at airports in the European Union to all liquids, gels, creams, pastes and aerosols. Whisky is a liquid and therefore falls under it. Per person you may take one bag, and it goes in the tray at the security check.

A bottle of 10 centiliters is 100 milliliters and so fits exactly within the limit. In Bathmen there are 8 whiskies in a bottle of 10 centiliters or smaller, from 7 brands from 3 countries. The whole whisky shelf has 3,895 items from 591 brands from 31 countries.

Drinks with more than 70 percent alcohol by volume are not allowed on the plane, neither in hand luggage nor in checked luggage.

That limit does not come from the security rules for liquids, but from the rules for dangerous goods in aviation. Above 70% vol the drink is judged too flammable to be carried as passenger baggage. Airlines adopt that provision in their baggage conditions.

So check the label before you pack. If the percentage is above 70% vol, the bottle stays at home. For bottles between 24% and 70% vol, a limit applies in checked baggage, and below 24% vol these dangerous goods rules do not apply.

In checked baggage, a maximum of 5 litres of drink per person is allowed with an alcohol percentage between 24% and 70% vol, in the original retail packaging.

Almost all whisky falls into that class: 40% vol, 43% vol and 46% vol are all in it, as are most cask strength bottlings. Seven bottles of 70 centilitres comes to 4.9 litres and thus stays under the maximum. The maximum applies per passenger, not per suitcase.

The requirement of the original sales packaging means that decanting into another bottle or a jerrycan is not allowed. Airlines may set stricter rules than the minimum, so check the baggage conditions of your airline before you book.

Whisky that you buy tax-free after the security check may go in your hand luggage, as long as the bottle with the proof of purchase stays sealed in the bag you receive at purchase.

That sealed transparent bag is called a security tamper evident bag in the regulations. The proof of purchase must be visible in the bag and be from the same day and the same airport. Do not open the bag until you are at your final destination, because an opened bag is no longer valid at a next check.

When changing flights you go through a security check again at some airports. If the bag is opened there, ask for a new sealed bag before you travel on.

The 100 millilitre limit for liquids in hand luggage still applies in October 2026, both at Schiphol and at the other airports in the European Union.

A number of airports in the Union had dropped the limit because they had introduced new hand-baggage scanners that can screen liquids. On 31 July 2024, the European Commission announced that those airports had to temporarily return to 100 millilitres per container, with effect from 1 September 2024. No end date has been set for that measure.

Schiphol states the limit of 100 millilitres on its own page about liquids in hand luggage as the rule in force. Check the website of the airport where you take off and change planes shortly before departure, because this is the point that can change.