As the Scottish school holidays begin, Aberdeen Airport is bracing itself for a huge influx of passengers and issuing a reminder about the liquids in hand luggage rules.

Around 35,400 people were expected to pass through Aberdeen Airport this weekend to destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Amsterdam, Paris, and the London airports.

George Cowie is the Head of Security and Terminal Operations. He said “A great deal of work goes into planning for the summer get-away. As budgets remain tight we appreciate that this may be families only break of the year and we want to make sure that it is a smooth and enjoyable one. My thanks go out to everyone at the airport who has worked so hard to ensure that we can deal with the influx of passengers.

“However it is astonishing to see the quantities of liquids we are forced to take from passengers, even 5 years after the liquids restrictions were brought in. Our security teams continue to find oversized liquids, gels and pastes in hand luggage which we are have to remove from them, and this causes upset for everyone involved. Passengers, if they take some time to prepare for their journey through the terminal, really can make their whole departure much smoother and more relaxed.

“Any liquids must be in containers of 100mls or less and be put into a clear re-sealable plastic bag which is then taken out of hand luggage for screening. And it doesn’t just have to be bottles of water, the same rules apply to everything from shampoos to make up to perfume to deodorant. We have even on occasions had to take things like expensive whisky and even jars of jam from passengers hand luggage because they are over 100mls.

“My best advice – if in doubt put it in your hold baggage. A bit of planning in advance can speed up the journey through security for you, your family and others waiting to depart.”