| Carry-on Luggage | Checked Luggage |
|---|---|
| Yes, up to 100ml | Yes |
Can you bring perfume, scents or cologne on a plane? This is a question many people would have. The security restrictions in airplanes make it difficult to bring liquids to planes. Since a perfume is a liquid, you would be wondering if it is allowed and what are the norms governing the same. In this post, we tell you all you want to know about carrying perfumes on a plane. Can you bring perfume on a plane as hand baggage? Or is it only allowed as checked-in baggage? Read on to know more detailed information.
Is bringing perfume on a plane allowed?
Let us first examine the rules to know if it is allowed to bring perfume on a plane. We need to refer to the rules of the Transport Security Administration or TSA. This is what the norms say.
- Perfume, scents, and cologne are allowed on an airplane. They can be brought in the checked luggage without any problems.
- If you want to bring it in your hand luggage to use as soon as you reach the destination, it is possible to do so. However, you need to comply with the 3-1-1 rule.
- The 3-1-1 rule imposes the following restrictions on bringing liquids in hand baggage:
- Any liquid must be in a bottle that measures 3.4 ounces or 100 ml or lesser than that.
- You need to have a zip lock cover that is transparent. All liquids you carry onboard the plane must be stored in the zip lock cover or bag. The bag must be a quart size.
Are there limits on the quantity of perfume that can be brought?
We have now established that you can bring perfume on a plane both in the checked-in luggage and as a part of hand baggage. The next question to answer is how much can be brought? The TSA has rules governing how much liquid can be brought on to a plane. Perfume is considered a liquid and these rules apply. The rules governing the same are:
- You can bring perfume (or any other liquid) only as much as would fit a quart-sized transparent bag.
- The liquid must be in a 100 ml or 3.4 oz bottle.
- Going by the measurements, you can fit around 7 to 12 such bottles in the bag. This represents the total number of bottles of liquid (including perfume) that you can carry with you in your hand baggage.
- When it comes to check-in baggage, there are no limits imposed. You can carry as much perfume you want in any number of bottles. There are no restrictions imposed. However, you must know duty tax has to be paid if you are travelling internationally. When you buy perfume and carry it with you on international flights, make sure you keep the bills or payment receipts with you. Without the receipts, you can be asked to pay duty.
Packing perfume to carry on a flight
Before we go into how to pack perfume, we need to look at whether you should carry it in your hand luggage or check-in baggage. Here are some pointers that will help you decide what to do:
- A reason you may want to carry perfume in your hand baggage is if you want to use it in-flight or immediately after you arrive at the destination.
- Using a perfume on flight is not advisable. There are different kinds of people you will encounter aboard a plane. There may be people who are allergic to perfumes. They will not appreciate if you are doused with perfume. Avoid using perfume during a flight.
- If the perfume is a very valuable gift and you do not want to risk it being broken or spilled, you can carry it with you on-board to safeguard it.
- In general, it is not advisable to carry a perfume in your hand baggage. You can store it in the check-in luggage since there are no restriction of any sort.
- There is a risk when you carry perfume bottles in your check-in luggage. The bags are likely to be thrown around by handlers. This problem is more common in third-world countries. It can cause the bottles to be broken. If you are worried about this, carry the bottles in your hand baggage.
The following explains the right way to pack perfume in bottles to carry aboard a plane.
- If you are carrying perfume in hand luggage, ensure that the bottle is 3.4 oz (100 ml).
- Check if the bottle is properly sealed and check for leakage. Whether you carry it in hand baggage or check-in baggage, leaking perfume can cause a mess. So, take extra care to check if the bottles are tightly closed.
- The best way to store perfume bottles is to keep each bottle in a zip-lock cover and seal the cover. This ensures even if the bottle leaks, the spilt liquid will remain in the cover.
- When you are taking bottles in check-in luggage, here is a useful tip to safeguard the bottle from being broken. Wrap it in a cloth or in a bubble wrap sheet. Ensure the bottle is placed near soft objects and not near hard objects.
- The same holds good for hand baggage. Do not keep the zip lock covers near hard objects in your hand luggage. Keep it wrapped in a cloth to prevent damage.
Carrying perfume for a vacation
When you are going on a vacation and want to take perfume, take sufficient perfume for the entire trip. Here are some guidelines to help you decide how much perfume you need:
- A 100 ml bottle should usually last for 1000 sprays. Every time you use perfume, you would use three sprays, one for the neck and each wrist. Keeping this calculation in mind, a 100 ml or 3.4 oz bottle should last for 1 year.
- So, a 100 ml bottle is fine to carry on a vacation. It also meets the TSA requirements.
- If you want only enough perfume for a vacation, you need around 4 ml for 2 weeks. You can buy 1.5 ml bottles and carry them with you.
