For many holidaymakers, school is out and this weekend marks the start of the great summer getaway. UK airports are expecting their busiest days of 2025 so far, with more than 9,000 flights carrying up to 1.7 million people abroad.
Despite the dream of sustainable travel and direct trains to the sun, most Britons heading abroad will fly.
After a bumpy few years, airlines and airports have taken on more staff and promised a better experience. Meanwhile, luggage allowances, security, compensation and border rules are all under review – but the penalties for getting it wrong can sting.
So what are the changes that could ease the passengers skywards this year – or spell a more turbulent trip?
Do I still need to worry about liquids in carry-on bags?
Yes – despite new state-of-the-art scanners now installed at great expense at many airports. Some relaxed the 100ml liquid rules in 2023 but were forced to reinstate them last year. Now, only Edinburgh and Birmingham allow passengers to take containers of up to two litres through security. But these airports are outliers – and even if you take bigger toiletries in hand luggage on an outbound flight, there’s no guarantee of bringing it back through security abroad.
The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said Britons should assume the liquid limit stands: “You should work on the basis that it is 100ml at the moment unless you have heard from your airport otherwise.”
The tyranny of tiny toiletries has held sway since 2006 when the 100ml limit on liquids, pastes and gels in hand baggage was first introduced, after a foiled transatlantic bomb plot.
The upgraded security lanes and new CT scanners also mean passengers will not need to take out their laptops or electronics – already possible in many airports.
But airports are at different stages of ending restrictions – sometimes, even within their own terminals. At London Gatwick, for example, all 19 security lanes have CT scanners so passengers no longer need to remove devices or put liquids in plastic bags – but the 100ml limit still applies.
What about the size of my cabin bags?
Carry-on bag size has become a flashpoint at the departure gate as travellers grapple with different rules depending on the airline they are flying with.
The rules on “large” cabin bags – such as the wheelie suitcase which most short-haul airlines now charge for – are unchanged. But for the small or “personal” cabin bag – usually placed under the seat in front – there is now a baseline as airlines fall in behind a new EU minimum bag size of 40cm by 30cm by 15cm.
This should in theory enable frequent travellers to buy one piece of luggage that will be accepted by all airlines.
Some airlines, such as easyJet, already allow a more generous free under-seat bag. Ryanair is increasing its maximum dimensions to comply, from 40 x 25 x 20cm, to 40 x 30 x 20cm, with the change “implemented over the coming weeks, as our airport bag sizers are adjusted”.
But if you get it wrong and a gate check deems your bag oversized, you will still pay a fee – £60 for Ryanair, and a similar charge even on other airlines such as Jet2.
The airline association Airlines for Europe said its 28 members will be following the rule by the end of the 2025 summer season however “carriers will continue to permit larger personal items at their discretion”.
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Didn’t I hear that the EU are making all cabin bags free?
Last month, the transport committee of the European parliament voted to give passengers the right to an extra piece of free hand luggage weighing up to 7kg. Under the proposed rule (yet to be approved) travellers would be able to bring one cabin bag measuring up to 100cm (the sum of the dimensions) as well a personal bag, at no additional cost.
However, airlines argue that it cannot happen: according to easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis, the proposal is silly – “there simply isn’t room for all the suitcases in the cabin.”
Do Britons still queue for longer at the border?
There will still be plenty of time to admire the deep blue of post-Brexit passports in the slow lane at most European airports. Since May, an agreement in principle has meant that EU countries can allow UK passengers to use their e-gates. In practice, most will be passing through staffed border posts to get passports stamped until the EU’s delayed entry-exit system, EES, arrives in October.
Travellers to the EU will then need to submit biometric information on their first visit, to cross the border using facial recognition technology. A further sting in the tail is that UK visitors will soon – likely in mid-2026 – require a European Travel Information and Authorisation System visa waiver, costing €7 (£6), to enter the EU. (Better, though, than the £16 that all visitors are now required to pay to come in via the UK’s own electronic travel authorisation.)
Will this be another summer of disruption?
The post-Covid travel boom left many unprepared, but airlines and airports believe the troubles of summer 2022 are well behind them, with continued recruitment and more settled staff. Airlines are increasingly turning to AI to predict issues, rearrange their operations at short notice during disruption, and increase resilience.
Air traffic control, however, remains a concern. Record numbers of flights are expected, and European skies in particular are ever more congested: the closure of Ukrainian and Russian airspace and parts of the Middle East has also squeezed many long-haul flights into the same corridors. Throw in air traffic control (ATC) staff shortages and strikes, and more and more airlines are finding their flights subject to rerouting or delay. EasyJet, Ryanair and BA all now say that ATC delays are their biggest headache.
How will they help passengers?
Airlines are obliged to provide refreshments during delays of two to four hours. BA says it will now do this automatically through QR codes and vouchers in its app for passengers delayed at Heathrow. EasyJet has added what it now brands “Aces” – or airport customer experience specialists – at Gatwick and its other big hubs to offer extra help and support.