Liquids at Arlanda Security: Current Rules

Newer CT-based security scanners can see inside containers in more detail than older X-ray equipment, and where they're installed, some airports allow larger liquid containers or remove the need to separate liquids into a bag at all. Where older equipment is still in use, the more familiar limits and bagging requirements still apply. Because a large airport can be part-way through installing new scanners, the rule that applies to you can depend on exactly which lane you go through.

The reliable way to know what applies on your travel date is to check Swedavia's official current guidance for Arlanda before you pack, rather than relying on what you remember from a previous trip or general advice you've seen elsewhere. Rules described in an older article, including one like this, can be out of date by the time you read it — the airport's own current page is the source that's kept up to date.

If you can't confirm the current rule before you travel, packing to the older, more restrictive standard — small containers, all liquids together in a clear bag — is the safest default, since it satisfies both the old and the newer, more permissive rules. It costs you nothing to follow the stricter standard even where the newer one would have allowed more; it only costs you time if you pack for the newer rule and the checkpoint you reach is still on the older equipment.

Whichever rule applies, uncertainty about your own packing is exactly the kind of thing that slows you down at the checkpoint — a bag pulled for a manual check because a liquid wasn't declared or wasn't separated correctly. Build in a little extra time at security if there's any doubt in your own mind about how you've packed, rather than assuming it'll be fine either way.