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Normally where do you get the 20cmx20cm resealable transparent bag and 100ml containers for flying with liquids?

I assume liquids need not be in their original container, and you can fill 100ml containers with whatever you need to carry (sunscreen, shampoo, and so on).

How strict is enforcement regarding the size and type of all these items? Can a container be 120ml? Can the bag be smaller or bigger, a common freezer bag or a zip-top bag for sandwiches?

This is regarding internal EU flights.

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    Your assumption in the second paragraph is correct. I suspect the answers to the others may depend on your airports which is why this is a comment not an answer.
    – mdewey
    Jun 5, 2018 at 17:41
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    There are plenty of questions and answer and there are plenty of stories on internet. Keep to the 100 ml or smaller and you will not have problems. Anything bigger might slip through but can be taken out and destroyed. Security within the EU is the same for Internal EU flights as for international flights. The bag should be one liter (or one quart if you use imperial sizes) and can be slightly bigger or smaller if it is mostly empty. It does not need to be ziplock, but it needs to be re-closable and see through.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jun 5, 2018 at 17:41
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    You can usually pick up a resealable bag at the airport before you go through security, although some airports may charge a small fee. Do not try to overfill the bag, you may be asked to remove items (which will be destroyed) if it doesn’t close.
    – Traveller
    Jun 5, 2018 at 17:54
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    Small fee? I have seen machines selling two bags for more than you need to pay for a full box in a normal supermarket. Never trust the airport to have them available, I have seen them being out of bags as well.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jun 5, 2018 at 18:07
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    @Willeke A couple of pounds/dollars/euros is still a small amount of money, even if all you get for it is this lousy plastic bag.
    – David Richerby
    Jun 5, 2018 at 19:13

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In the EU, the bag must be a transparent one-liter re-sealable plastic bag. Nobody is going to measure or question your bag as long as it looks like everyone else's, so any standard quart sandwich bag like you'd buy at the grocery store is fine. Some people buy specialized pouches intended for this purpose, but there's no need: an ordinary freezer bag is cheap and lasts quite a long time.

I often buy toiletries for travel that come in 100ml (or smaller) containers, which avoids the annoying process of pouring into smaller bottles. These can often be found at drug stores. If there's a particular product you want that isn't available in travel-sized bottles, you can buy 100ml containers at some drug stores, housewares stores, travel/luggage stores, and online.

Containers are required to be 100ml or less, and you risk having the items confiscated if yours are larger. You well could get away with a slightly larger bottle, but it's your risk.

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    You can also refill any bottle small enough you already own. The label/print does not need to fit the contents. I did already refill years before the 100ml/liter bag rules came in as a 50 ml bottle lasts me a few holidays.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jun 5, 2018 at 19:10
  • The specialized pouches have the advantage that zippers are less likely to accidentally come open. Ordinary zip-lock bags are prone to coming unsealed if the top of the bag gets folded over too tightly--as very well might happen if it's shoved around in a bag.
    – Loren Pechtel
    Jun 6, 2018 at 2:54
  • @LorenPechtel the requirements are for the bag to be sealable, not for it to be sealed :) And even that's usually no problem, as long as the stuff's in a baggy at all.
    – jwenting
    Jun 6, 2018 at 6:34
  • @jwenting If the bag comes open the stuff might come out.
    – Loren Pechtel
    Jun 6, 2018 at 20:33
  • @LorenPechtel true, so make sure it doesn't :) Use some sticky tape, or fill the bag only for a small part and fold it around a few times.
    – jwenting
    Jun 9, 2018 at 14:50
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I have had a brand new 110 ml bottle thrown away by TSA, so I would suggest staying within the 100 ml threshold. Sometimes, the travel sizes products are expensive and so will really depend on your choice whether filling it in a small bottle or getting a travel size piece. I personally do a combination of both! Regarding the bag, as already suggested, any ordinary ziploc or sandwich bag should work. As long as they are able to see everything, you are fine!

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  • depends on the screener too. I've had a screener in the UK find a forgotten bottle of eye drops in my camera bag I'd not put in a transparent baggy once, she just looked at it and gave it back to me with a smile :)
    – jwenting
    Jun 6, 2018 at 6:35
  • yeah..totally agree!
    – Neels
    Jun 6, 2018 at 15:35

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