Only One Plastic Bag (20cm x 20cm) for Liquids on easyJet

Whenever anyone asks me whether I've had experienced any travel mishaps before, I proudly tell them that I've not experienced any. That is until I took an easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Split in Croatia recently.

It was my first time travelling on easyJet. I only had a hand carry trolley bag because I like travelling light and I didn't want to pay extra to keep my luggage in the hold. 

Before the trip I had measured my trolley bag to ensure it's within the 56cm x 45cm x 25cm size mentioned in the easyJet website. The good thing about easyJet is that there's no weight limit to your hand carry luggage, unlike freaking AirAsia which has a 7kg limit.

Since my only luggage was a hand carry, I had ensured that all my liquid (skincare products and toiletries) were stored in 100ml containers.

I had already checked-in online, so when I reached London Gatwick, I headed straight to security to get my bags scanned.

At the security area, I saw passengers packing their liquids into transparent, resealable plastic bags (readily available) before joining the queue. So I also did the same. The only thing I didn't know is that each passenger is allowed only one plastic bag, and I had three of 'em!

Still oblivious to what I was headed for, I walked into the security area carrying all three plastic bags. The security personnel was polite enough to inform me that I'm only allowed one plastic bag. He gave me the option to go back outside and check-in my luggage or to repack my liquids. I chose the latter.

I was escorted back outside. They asked me to stand in a spot while they scanned my retina and then an officer accompanied me to the packing area where I repacked my liquids. Since I had to pack everything into one tiny 20cm x 20cm plastic bag, I had to be smart about it. What went into the bag were my Clarins and Innisfree products. I had to leave behind my toiletries and Rosken handcream (so sad).

After saying goodbye to my stuff, I went back into security and flew to Split safely where I had to buy toiletries to replace the ones I had left behind at London Gatwick.

Moral of the story:
1) Don't take for granted that all airlines have similar rules on hand carry liquids.
2) Read the hand carry rules of the airline in detail, especially so if you're flying on a particular airline for the first time. This is to ensure you don't breech any rules which may cause you to miss your flight.
3) If you're too lazy to perform Item (1) and (2), just check-in your luggage.