This is a great little trick found by the guys and girls over at www.studentmoneysaver.co.uk, will definitely be giving it a try next time I fly from the UK! Let me know if any of you give it a try and how you get on.
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By ordering your big bottles of holiday liquids, BEFORE you get to the airport and then getting them delivered to the Boots stores that are in airport terminals, you get past airport security with all its liquid limitations, get big bottles of the brands you like, skip holiday resort inflation and ensure your bag isn’t too heavy – think of the extra bikinis you’ll be able to squeeze into your suitcase.
We’ve all been there... the night before a big holiday, frantically choosing which shampoo/tanning oil/after sun to ditch because it’s just too heavy or there isn’t enough room in your case.
Or, opening your suitcase to find you now have conditioner completely covering all your new holiday clothes because the baggage handlers were a bit too heavy-handed.
Or, if you’re a money saver like us, weighing up whether you can actually stomach spending almost as much on a miniature bottle of your favourite shampoo as you would on the full sized product - money that could be much better spent on holiday cocktails.
What can you take through airport security?
You are able to take liquids in your suitcase to go into the plane’s hold. However the general allowance for suitcase weight is about 20kg give or take, and a study by Boots showed that the average holiday toiletries shop is 5kg. So it’s fair to say weight is at a premium and any heavy items you can take out is a plus, because you can be slapped with a hefty charge for over-weight luggage.
If you want liquid products with you on the plane itself, there are hand luggage restrictions. Liquids include all drinks, liquidy foods, hairspray, foams, pastes including toothpaste, gels, contact lens solution etc.
If you do need to take these on, you have to ensure they are in containers that hold no more than 100ml and that they all fit within a single transparent, re-sealable bag that holds no more than a litre and measures approximately 20cm x 20cm. We've actually seen someone throw away a whole bottle of perfume because they were not prepared.
What’s the loophole?
When you order items from Boots online, you are able to get the items delivered to a local store free with over a £20 spend or £1.95 for anything less than that. However, what you might not know is that you can get them delivered to Boots stores that are in airport terminals, past security?
At the Boots online checkout, pick option one and put the word ‘airport’ into the search bar. You’ll get a big list of airport stores you can get your items delivered to - including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Aberdeen, Newcastle and Solihull.
So when you pick up your items at the terminal store, you’ve already had your bag weighed saving the precious weight/space in your hold luggage and you’ve also passed the point where you need to have liquids in 100ml containers and in little plastic bags.
This means you can order all the products you want from your holiday online, but you’ll need to do it five days in advance and pick up within 14 days.
Any downsides?
Here’s the thing, you won’t be able to bring the items back without putting them in your hold suitcase. So you need to make sure you’re going to use the items you buy, or at least have the room/weight allowance to put them in on the way back. Although, they probably will be lighter.
You also need to find out the allowance limitations and exclusions on what you can order from your flight provider. Just because you can buy 100 bottles of shampoo and have them in the airport terminal, doesn’t mean the airline is going to let you take up a load of room on the plane. We'd suggest you keep it to a reasonable amount, or find out the limitations.
