How Much Liquid Can You Take on a Flight (2026 Data)

How much liquid can you take on a flight? In a carry-on bag, each container of liquid, aerosol, gel, cream or paste may hold 3.4 ounces¹ (100 ml) or less, and all of the containers must fit in one quart-size bag per traveler. Larger bottles go in checked baggage, where a different set of federal limits applies.

That one small bag is the rule for the 906.7 million² people who passed through TSA checkpoints in 2025. Yet the same traveler may check up to 5 liters³ of strong liquor, fly between two US cities with any amount of cash, and pack a power bank as long as it stays under a set watt-hour rating. This page sets out the numbers behind each of those limits: liquids at home and abroad, checked-bag limits for alcohol and cologne, batteries, cash and cannabis. It then turns to the checkpoint itself: how many people it screens, how many guns officers find, and what PreCheck, REAL ID and the wait in line look like in the data.

The 3-1-1 rule: 3.4 ounces in one quart-size bag

The name of the rule is its content. Each container holds 3.4 ounces¹ or less, the containers go into one quart-size bag, and each passenger brings one bag. The limit covers more than drinks: aerosols, gels, creams and pastes count as liquids too. Anything larger goes in checked baggage, and items that set off an alarm at the checkpoint need additional screening.

A 100 ml bottle holds 3.38⁴ US fluid ounces, which the rule rounds to 3.4. The bag is small too: a US quart is about 946 ml⁴, a little under a liter.

What is exempt: medicine, baby food and duty-free

Three groups of liquids may go over the limit. Liquid medication is allowed in larger containers in "reasonable quantities" for the trip; it does not have to go in the quart-size bag, but it should be declared to an officer at the start of screening.⁵ Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food are also allowed above 3.4 ounces and outside the bag, the child does not need to be traveling, and ice packs and gel packs used to keep them cold are allowed too.⁶

The third exemption is for duty-free shopping. Travelers on an international journey who connect in the US may keep duty-free liquids larger than 3.4 ounces in their carry-on if the items were bought within the past 48 hours¹ and the shop sealed them in a transparent, tamper-evident bag.

Liquid limits abroad: Canada, the UK and the EU

Canada, next door, keeps a rule close to the US one. Containers may hold 100 ml⁷ (3.4 oz) or 100 g, and they go in one clear, resealable bag of no more than 1 liter⁷ (about 33.8⁴ fl oz), one bag per passenger. Baby food and drink for infants under 24 months⁷, breast milk in any quantity, and prescription and essential non-prescription medicines are exempt.

The UK is in the middle of a change. In December 2022 the government set a June 2024 deadline for major airports to install new scanners.⁸ In April 2024 airports that were not ready were given extensions of up to a year.⁹ Across the ocean the bottle can grow twentyfold, but the rule now depends on the airport: at most UK airports the limit is still 100 ml¹⁰, but some allow containers of up to 2 liters¹⁰ (about 68 fl oz). Where a bag is needed, it is one transparent, resealable bag of no more than 1 liter, about 8 inches⁴ on each side (20 x 20 cm). Medicines, special dietary needs, baby food and baby milk may exceed the limit up to 2 liters at every UK airport.¹⁰ The exemptions differ less than the limits: all three countries let parents carry baby food and milk above the standard size and let travelers carry needed medicine, but only the UK puts a number on it.

The European Union went back before it went forward. From September 1, 2024, airports that used the new cabin-bag scanners had to return to the standard 100 ml¹¹ limit, a precaution described as a response to a temporary technical issue, not to any new threat. In July 2025 approval of certain scanner models allowed airports that use them to accept containers of up to 2 liters¹² again, so the answer in Europe depends on the machine at the checkpoint.

What can go in checked bags instead

Checked baggage has no 3.4-ounce rule, but it is not unlimited. Federal hazardous-materials rules cap toiletries and medicines, a group that includes perfume, cologne and aerosols, at 17 fl oz³ (500 ml) per container and 68 fl oz³ (2 liters) per person across all bags. By weight the caps are 18 ounces (0.5 kg) per container and 70 ounces (2 kg) per person. The per-person total applies to carry-on and checked bags together, and in the carry-on the 3.4-ounce container limit still comes first.

How much liquor you can carry on an international flight

These US federal rules apply to international flights leaving US airports; the duty-free and customs allowances of the destination country are a separate matter. In a carry-on bag, liquor follows the same 3.4-ounce rule as shampoo: miniature bottles in the quart-size bag only, unless the bottles are sealed duty-free purchases on an international connection.¹³ Checked bags follow the alcohol content. Drinks of 24%³ alcohol by volume or less, which covers beer and wine, have no quantity limit under this rule. Between 24% and 70%³ alcohol, which covers most spirits, each passenger may pack up to 5 liters³ (about 1.32⁴ gallons) in unopened retail packaging.

Above 70% alcohol (140 proof) the bottle may not fly at all.¹³

How much cologne you can travel with

In a carry-on, a cologne or perfume bottle must hold 3.4 ounces¹ or less and go in the quart-size bag like any other liquid. In a checked bag a single bottle may hold up to 17 fl oz, and all toiletries together may reach 68 fl oz per person.³ Perfume bought in a duty-free shop and carried on the person or in a carry-on bag is exempt from those hazardous-materials limits,³ but that does not lift the 3.4-ounce carry-on limit. A larger duty-free bottle can pass the checkpoint only under the sealed-bag exemption: bought within the past 48 hours on an international journey that connects in the US, and sealed in a tamper-evident bag.¹

How many mAh are allowed in a power bank on a flight

The rule is written in watt-hours, not milliamp-hours. A lithium-ion battery of up to 100 Wh³ needs no approval. Batteries above 100 Wh and up to 160 Wh³ need the airline's approval, and a passenger may carry no more than two spare batteries³ of that size. Above 160 Wh the passenger exception ends.

Power banks are sold by mAh, so the label needs converting. At the typical 3.7-volt cell voltage, which is an assumption and not part of the rule, 100 Wh equals about 27,000 mAh⁴ and 160 Wh about 43,000 mAh⁴. A common 20,000 mAh power bank works out at about 74 Wh⁴, well inside the limit. With two approved spares, the most a traveler can bring in large spares is 320 Wh⁴.

Where the battery goes matters as much as its size. Spare lithium batteries, which include every power bank, are allowed in carry-on bags only and never in checked baggage, and each must be protected against short circuits.¹⁴ Devices packed in checked bags must be switched fully off, not left in sleep mode.³

How much cash you can travel with

Batteries have a hard cap; cash has none. It is legal to carry any amount of currency or other monetary instruments into or out of the United States; what the law asks for is a report once the amount passes a threshold.¹⁵

How much cash you can carry on a domestic flight

The federal reporting rule covers money that crosses the border, into or out of the US. A flight between two US cities therefore carries no federal cash limit and no federal cash report.¹⁵

How much cash you can travel with internationally

Any amount, but more than $10,000¹⁵ at one time must be declared. The report is FinCEN Form 105¹⁵, the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments, and it applies to money carried, mailed or shipped, into or out of the country. Receiving more than $10,000 from abroad requires the same form.¹⁵ The threshold counts more than bills: US or foreign coins and currency, traveler's checks, bearer negotiable instruments, incomplete signed instruments, and bearer securities all add up.

The threshold also applies to a traveling party as a whole. A family or group traveling together that carries more than $10,000 in total must report it, even if no single person holds that much.¹⁶ Failing to report can lead to seizure and forfeiture of the money and to civil or criminal penalties.

How much weed you can travel with in NY

On the ground, New York allows adults aged 21¹⁷ and over to possess up to 3 ounces¹⁷ (about 85⁴ g) of cannabis flower and up to 24 grams¹⁷ (about 0.85⁴ ounces) of concentrated cannabis. That is the state's possession limit, not an airport rule.

At the checkpoint the answer is different. TSA lists medical marijuana with special instructions for both carry-on and checked bags, and its officers do not look for illegal drugs, but they refer any illegal substance they come across to law enforcement.¹⁸ There is no federal allowance for carrying cannabis on a flight; the state limit applies on the ground only. Whether a flight lands in a state with different laws is a separate question. So how many people carry all of these bags through the checkpoint?

How many people pass through TSA checkpoints

More than ever. TSA screened 906.7 million² people in 2025, the highest yearly total on record and 2.7 million⁴ more than in 2024, a gain of 0.3%⁴. That is about 2.48 million⁴ people a day, and 82.7 million⁴ more than the 824 million¹⁹ screened in 2019, before the pandemic.

The line shows how deep the dip was. In 2020 checkpoints saw 324 million¹⁹ travelers, 39.3%⁴ of the 2019 total. Traffic recovered to 585.3 million²⁰ in 2021 and 736 million²¹ in 2022, passed the 2019 level in 2023 with 858 million²², and reached 904 million²³ in 2024.

The trend line is our calculation, not a forecast. Fitted to all ten years from 2016 to 2025, the dip included, it rises by about 16.1 million⁴ a year and would reach about 1,222 million⁴ people in 2050. A line fitted only to the recovery years from 2022 is about 3.5⁴ times steeper, which says more about the rebound than about the long run.

Each of those travelers brings bags. Officers screened 2.1 billion² carry-on items in 2025, and checked bags fell to 480 million², 14 million⁴ fewer than in 2024, even as passenger numbers rose.

Busiest months, weekdays and days

Summer is the peak. In 2025 July was the busiest month with 85.1 million²⁷ people screened, 1.36⁴ times as many as February's 62.6 million²⁷. February is short, but January had the lowest daily average of the year, 2.12 million²⁷ a day.

The day of the week matters almost as much as the month. Sundays averaged 2.74 million²⁷ people in 2025, the most of any weekday, and Tuesdays 2.16 million²⁷, the fewest. The gap is about 0.58 million⁴ people a day, 1.27⁴ times as many on a Sunday as on a Tuesday.

The busiest single day on record came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 30, 2025, when TSA screened 3,134,613²⁷ people. It was one of 8²⁷ days in 2025 at or above three million, and six of the ten busiest days were Sundays.

The quietest day was Thanksgiving itself. On November 27, 2025 only 1,559,165²⁷ people passed through, so the busiest day of the year saw 2.01⁴ times the traffic of the quietest, three days earlier. The other slow days fell on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January and February.

2026 so far

The record may not fall this year. From January to August 2026 TSA screened 602.6 million²⁸ people, 3.7 million⁴ or 0.6%⁴ fewer than in the same months of 2025. The year started ahead, with February up 2.7%²⁸, then fell behind from May, and August was down 4.4%²⁸. No day through August reached three million; the busiest so far was June 18, 2026 with 2,988,204²⁸.

Part of this period fell in a lapse in Homeland Security funding that began in February, during which TSA officers worked without pay,²⁹ and that ended when the appropriations act was signed on April 30, 2026.³⁰

Where domestic trips start

TSA does not publish a state-by-state count of people screened, so the map uses a related measure: each state's share of domestic airline trips that started there in 2025. California led with 13.4%³¹, ahead of Florida with 9.55%³¹, Texas with 9.03%³¹ and New York with 6.1%³¹.

Firearms found at checkpoints

Officers find thousands of guns a year. In 2024 they stopped 6,678³² firearms at checkpoints, 59⁴ fewer than the record of 6,737³³ in 2023, a drop of 0.88%⁴. The count has grown 5.95⁴ times since 2010, when it was 1,123³⁴. Before 2024, only 2020, with 3,257³⁵ finds among far fewer travelers, broke the climb.

A national total for 2025 was not available when this page was compiled, so 2024 is the latest full year.

The long trend line, again our calculation and not a forecast, adds about 430.3⁴ firearms a year and would pass 17,900⁴ by 2050. The last three years argue for caution: from 2022 to 2024 the count stayed between 6,542 and 6,737,³³ and a line fitted to those years alone ends near 8,488⁴ in 2050. The long line most likely overstates.

Loaded guns and the rate per million passengers

More travelers means more guns, so the rate tells more than the count. Dividing each year's finds by the people screened gives 5.38⁴ firearms per million passengers in 2019, a peak of 10.20⁴ in 2021, and 7.39⁴ in 2024. Travelers today bring fewer guns per head than in 2021, but more than before the pandemic.

Nearly all of them are loaded, and the share has risen every year since 2020. About 83%²⁴ of the guns found in 2016 were loaded, 88%³⁹ in 2022 and 94%³² in 2024. Firearms turned up at 277³² airports in 2024, and officers found about 18.2³² a day. TSA's own rate for 2024 is 7.4 per million;³² it does not publish the exact passenger count it divides by, so it differs slightly from the calculation above.

Airports with the most firearms

Atlanta leads every year shown. Its checkpoints produced 451³³ firearms in 2023, 6.7%⁴ of the national total and 73⁴ more than Dallas/Fort Worth in second place. Three of the top ten were in Texas and three in Florida.

The top five barely moved in 2024. Atlanta stayed first with 440⁴⁰, Dallas/Fort Worth second with 390⁴¹, and Houston Bush third with 272⁴⁰. Austin entered the top ten in tenth place, and Fort Lauderdale, ninth in 2023, dropped out.

Earlier years show the same names at the top. Atlanta led in 2019 with 323³⁷, in 2020 with 220³⁴ and in 2022 with 448³⁶.

Fines for bringing a gun to the checkpoint

Forgetting a gun in a carry-on is expensive. For a first offense with a loaded firearm, or an unloaded one with ammunition within reach, the civil penalty runs from $3,000⁴² to $12,210⁴², a range $9,210⁴ wide, plus a referral for criminal charges. A repeat offense costs up to $17,062⁴², the maximum for an individual. The traveler also loses PreCheck eligibility for at least five years.⁴³ Mistakes with a gun in checked baggage carry smaller fines.

TSA PreCheck, wait times and REAL ID

A PreCheck membership lasts five years.⁴⁴ Three companies enroll applicants, and their prices differ by $8.25⁴: from $76.75⁴⁴ to $85.00⁴⁴. Spread over five years, that is about $15.35⁴ to $17.00⁴ a year.

Renewal costs less than enrolling at all three providers (at CLEAR only when renewed online), from $58.75⁴⁴ (IDEMIA online, Telos in person). Where to enroll also varies: one provider runs 517⁴⁴ active locations and another 348⁴⁴.

Membership has grown fast. More than 14 million²¹ travelers held PreCheck in 2022, more than 18 million²² in 2023, and the program passed 20 million⁴⁵ members in August 2024. That year 3.3 million²³ people enrolled and 2.1 million²³ renewed.

Lines move faster than many travelers expect. TSA's standard for regular lanes is under 30 minutes, and from January 2015 to May 2017 it was met 99%⁴⁶ of the time at the airports it monitored. In 2022, 99.4%²¹ of passengers in regular lanes waited less than 30 minutes, and the same share of PreCheck travelers waited less than 10 minutes. The thresholds change from year to year, so the figures are shown side by side rather than as a trend.

REAL ID became mandatory at the checkpoint on May 7, 2025. Before enforcement 81%⁴⁷ of travelers showed an acceptable ID, and two weeks after it 93%⁴⁸ did, a gain of 12⁴ points. Since February 1, 2026, travelers without one can pay $45⁴⁹ for TSA ConfirmID, which covers a 10-day⁴⁹ travel period, and early data put compliance at 95% to 99%.⁴⁹

The agency behind the checkpoint

All of this is paid for by about $11.5 billion⁵⁰ in appropriations for fiscal year 2026, enacted in the Homeland Security appropriations act signed on April 30, 2026.³⁰ Of that, $5.533 billion⁵⁰ pays screening officers' salaries and benefits, and about $3.55 billion⁵⁰ is covered by passenger security and vetting fees. The request for the same year was $11.6 billion⁵¹ and 59,232⁵² positions. In 2024 alone TSA brought on more than 8,760²³ new officers and support assistants.

What the limits mean for your next trip

The numbers turn into a few packing rules:

• Pack by bag, not by item. A 17 fl oz bottle of cologne is fine in a checked bag and not allowed in a carry-on, where the limit is 3.4 ounces.³
• Check the airport abroad, not the country. In the UK and the EU the 2-liter limit applies only at airports with approved scanners; everywhere else it is 100 ml.¹⁰
• Read the watt-hours on the power bank. A 20,000 mAh bank is about 74 Wh and flies in the carry-on without approval; it may never go in a checked bag.¹⁴
• Count cash as a family. A family of four crossing the border with $3,000 each carries $12,000 and must report it, although no one person passed $10,000.¹⁶
• Travel on a Tuesday if you can. Tuesdays in 2025 averaged 2.16 million people, against 2.74 million on Sundays.²⁷
• Empty the bag before the airport. A firearm left in a carry-on can cost up to $12,210 on a first offense and five years without PreCheck.⁴²

Conclusions

1. The same bottle is legal in one bag and not the other. A carry-on allows 3.4 ounces per container, a checked bag 17 fl oz, so the choice of bag decides what can come along.¹³
2. Abroad the limit follows the scanner, not the border. UK and EU airports with approved equipment allow up to 2 liters, while most others still stop at 100 ml.¹⁰¹²
3. More travelers, fewer guns per traveler. Firearm finds flattened near 6,700 a year while passenger numbers hit a record, so the rate fell from 10.20 per million in 2021 to 7.39 in 2024.⁴
4. The only federal cash rule is a border report, and it counts a family as one. There is no limit on the amount, only a report above $10,000 for the group's total.¹⁶
5. The checkpoint boom has paused. Traffic from January to August 2026 ran 0.6% behind 2025, after five straight years of growth.²⁸