Jim Eagles: Best plan to travel light

Now the dust has settled following the latest major aviation security scare, what can you take with you on a plane trip overseas?

If you're flying economy from Auckland to London via Los Angeles you are now condemned to arrive with dry lips. Lip balm is among the items banned from cabin baggage on that route following the plot to blow up a dozen planes flying from Britain to the United States, though most airlines are providing extra supplies of lip balm to their premium passengers.

And if you're going via LA to London you're likely to be condemned to a dry throat as well. While the rules have been loosened to allow passengers disembarking in the US to take duty free, those flying further cannot, because the kindly US Homeland Security staff still generally confiscate duty free from transit passengers heading to Britain.

Fortunately, the new rules do not apply everywhere. There is no change to the cabin baggage requirements if your destination is somewhere like Australia, the Pacific Islands and Asia, where most of us fly.

There's also no change if you're going to Britain via somewhere other than the US, through Dubai, say, or Hong Kong, or Tahiti.

But if you're flying to the US, or via the US, especially if you're going on to Britain; or if you're flying via Britain to Europe, in fact if you're flying anywhere from a British airport, there are new rules for cabin baggage.

The really stringent restrictions introduced on flights involving British or American airports immediately after the scare have now been lifted. You no longer have to carry cabin baggage in clear plastic bags, for instance, and you can take books and mobile phones on board.

But almost all liquids, gels or aerosols are still forbidden. There are lots of other new restrictions, including strict limits on the size of cabin baggage; and to make matters worse, the new rules vary from place to place and are changing as time goes on.

The new rules are outlined on most airline websites. For instance, Air New Zealand spells out the requirements on www.airnewzealand.co.nz under "Security measures on UK/US flights" as best it can.

The airline's customer advocate manager, Debbie McKeown, reckons the best approach in this new era is to "pack according to the worst-case scenario, in other words on the basis of the toughest rules you'll encounter on your trip".

And, she adds, passengers would be well advised to "take as little cabin baggage as possible, even if you are entitled to take more".

That's because passengers travelling to affected airports are likely to be subjected to secondary screening in the departure lounge so there's a risk of having the contents of your cabin baggage sifted by strange hands.

Here are the basics:

* Duty Free - if you're going via US or British airports you're better off not taking any duty free with you because, as McKeown puts it, "the risk of having it confiscated is too great".

* Medicines - you can take medicines in cabin baggage but unless you need them on the flight you're better off putting them in your checked-in baggage. Generally, medicines taken on the plane should not be more than 120ml, the name on the label has to match the name on the passenger ticket, and they may be taken to an airport pharmacy to be verified.

* Babies - formula, milk and baby food may be taken with small children but should be in small containers and may have to be tasted to verify contents.

* Diabetics - drinks required by diabetic passengers are permitted but mostly should be no more than 148ml and may have to be tasted.

* Liquids - just about any other liquids or gels, including toothpaste, lip balm, moisturisers, sprays, shaving cream, perfumes, deodorants, cosmetics are banned. To offset this, airlines like Air NZ are providing extra supplies of toothpaste and, for premium passengers, other lotions and cosmetics.

* Electronics - valuable items like laptops, mobile phones and cameras can be taken on the plane but will be subject to secondary screening. Laptops will usually have to be taken out of their cases for checking.

* Miscellaneous - you can take pens but not refills, cigarette lighters are out but safety matches are in (though you still can't smoke), sandwiches are allowed but not yoghurts, and combs are permissible but not hairspray.

Happily, there is an upside to all this chaos and confusion: airlines are now taking a much stricter line on cabin baggage.

Well, they have to, because the new security procedures mean some selfish luggage glutton turning up at the departure lounge with a suitcase, a shoulder bag, a suitbag, a handbag and a bag of duty free all of which might have to be hand-searched would clog up the whole system.

Now - especially if you're going through Heathrow - you're limited to a bag measuring just 35cm by 45cm by 16cm ... and that includes other bags or handbags.

Hooray. It's an ill wind ...