MFAT encourages travellers to be have Covid-19 contingency plans when travelling this summer. Photo / 123rf
MFAT encourages travellers to be have Covid-19 contingency plans when travelling this summer. Photo / 123rf
One traveller has accused Heathrow International Airport staff of “robbery” after incorrectly claiming her lipsticks were classed as “liquids” and confiscating them.
Shadia Black, a Swiss law student and model, was flying out of London’s Heathrow Airport when she was pulled aside at the security checkpoint.
Black was told she had too many liquids in her hand luggage and was asked to remove them. At the time, she had a travel-sized Estée Lauder face cleanser and face serum, products that can cost upwards of $150.
“I knew it was travel size and I knew how much you are allowed,” Black said in a video shared to TikTok, in which she explained her version of events.
She was told the items must fit into a single small clear plastic bag provided by the female security employee. At this moment, Black also pulled out three unused lipsticks and was told those items also had to fit into the bag.
“This is a lipstick and not a liquid,” Black told the employee, showing viewers the standard solid lipstick but claims the employee said the airport policy classed it as a liquid.
Heathrow Airport's FAQ section online states solid lipstick is not a liquid, as of November 21, 2023.
The three lipsticks were worth approximately $186, Black told MailOnline.
Black said she had “never been so mad before” and felt the airport staff were “brutally robbing people”.
She asked to speak to a manager, and another employee was called over, who allegedly agreed the lipsticks were liquids and it said so on their website.
However, when Black looked online, she didn’t see any mention of lipsticks in Heathrow’s liquids section.
“It wasn’t and I told the lady, I told the manager, that lipstick is not mentioned at all,” she said, adding that the situation was “so crazy and cruel”.
Black said she was so mad at the time but looking back, she wished she had destroyed the lipsticks first, as she believed the staff planned to keep them.
In the comments section of the video, almost 1000 people shared their own experiences with liquids in airports. Some agreed they’d experienced similar.
“This is why I always put my makeup in my suitcase. I don’t trust airport staff to be fair and reasonable. even if it’s a small hand cream, SUITCASE!!,” one person wrote.
Others pointed out that the rules were not consistent at airports. “I flew from Heathrow T2 a few days ago and they told me I didn’t even need to take liquids out of my bag,” someone claimed.
“I travel a lot and never had this issue with my lipsticks,” another added.
One person who claimed to be an ex-Heathrow employee claimed staff would intentionally take an item and then take it home.
On Heathrow’s website, it states solid lipstick is not classed as a liquid and told MailOnline items were not kept or reused by staff after being confiscated.
Instead, they can occasionally be given to Mail and Fly, a mail service located at security control, which gives travellers the option to mail their confiscated items to their destination separately, for a cost.
Items that remain unclaimed for three months are reportedly donated to an unspecified charity.
