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I know you can't bring bottled water and such with you on the plane. However, is it safe to bring an empty bottle with you to fill up later? Or do you risk losing your possibly expensive/fancy/awesome water bottle when going through security?

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2 Answers

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I always have one or two plastic bottles with me. I empty them before I go through security and then re-fill them from a tap in the restroom in the waiting area.

I've done this many times, and security never asked about the empty bottles, and even if they do you can explain what they are for.

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Exactly my experience. Note that some airports only have warm water in the bathrooms airside and no fountain, possibly in order to increase sales. – Jonas Sep 25 '12 at 15:50
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And note that some airlines will fill your bottle for you if you ask, even before they come around with the cart, and some planes have drinking water taps outside the bathroom (labelled drinking water) so you can fill up yourself on long flights. – Kate Gregory Sep 25 '12 at 15:57
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Many (but not all) airports have water fountains after security, so you can fill up your empty bottle before boarding. Make sure you check if there's an additional security check at the gate before doing this though! – Gagravarr Sep 25 '12 at 19:36
I have seen signs in airports telling people to do just that (I don't remember where). – Gilles Sep 25 '12 at 21:11
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This will be possible until someone tries to blow up a plane with some kind of gaseous material. At which point, breathing on planes will be banned. – LordScree Sep 25 '12 at 21:20
up vote 2 down vote

Though security might let you get away with this, regulations clearly state (UK, but the same applies elsewhere) that vessels that are able to contain more than 100ml, even when they contain less (or nothing at all) are not allowed through security.

Case in point: have you ever tried to take a half empty tube of toothpaste through security?

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There is a difference between less and nothing. Completely empty containers are allowed. Half empty, or 1/7 full or whatnot, are not. – Kate Gregory Sep 27 '12 at 13:29
That is common sense speaking :) The relevant line in the text I link is "Containers larger than 100ml (excluding essential medicines) will not be allowed through the security point even if they are only part full." so, you might get away with a empty bottle, you might not. – MastaBaba Sep 29 '12 at 21:23
well, empty isn't part full. And I have brought empty bottles through security in airports in Canada, the USA, Australia, and the Netherlands just in 2012. In fact in Sydney the screener chastised the people in front of me for throwing their empty bottles away after drinking the water in them, so I decided to keep my empty bottle, which worked out really well for me on that flight. – Kate Gregory Sep 29 '12 at 22:45
Again, what actually gets through security is loosely dependent on what regulations say. However, for the UK, containers larger than 100ml will not be allowed, even if they are only part full. The rules state that containers larger than 100ml will not be allowed. The rules say nothing about empty containers larger than 100ml, which means that the only thing that applies is the rule related to containers larger than 100ml (whether they are full, half full or not). But, again, your milage may, and clearly does, differ. I typically never put my liquids in a bag, which never is a problem either. – MastaBaba Oct 2 '12 at 11:16

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