Here’s How to Get Water Through Airport Security

• U.S. airports require travelers to drink or toss any full water bottles before going through security. However, there’s a trick for getting a full bottle of water—or any liquid—through the TSA checkpoint. For the trick to work, travelers must carefully follow TSA guidelines.

Most travelers agree that getting through airport security can be a real pain. It’s impossible to remember if the airport you’re traveling through requires shoes to be off or on, laptops to be out or in your bag, or if you need to put all your toiletries in a clear bag or not. But one reliable rule is that every airport in the U.S. requires travelers to either drink or toss any full water bottles before going through security. Or … do they? 

If you’re really looking to bring your own water with you through security and onto your next destination (perhaps you’re particularly fond of your filtered home water or have a high-tech reverse osmosis system), there is one way to get that liquid through security. And that’s by freezing it. 

“​Frozen liquid items are allowed through the checkpoint as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening,” a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson shared with CNN. 

However, as the spokesperson added, the liquid must be fully frozen as it passes through the belt. “If frozen liquid items are partially melted, slushy, or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they must meet 3-1-1 liquids requirements,” the TSA spokesperson noted.

The 3-1-1 rule, for those unfamiliar with the specifics of the TSA rules, states that passengers are “allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in your carry-on bag and through the checkpoint” so long as they are 3.4 ounces, or 100 milliliters, or less. If the containers carrying your liquids are any larger, you must put them in your checked bag. And that’s a key thing to remember: It’s not the amount of liquid, but the container it’s in, so double-check or pick up one of these TSA-approved toiletry kits to be sure. 

There are, of course, some exceptions to this rule, including medications and nutritional needs, such as breast milk and baby formula. 

As for flights inbound to the U.S., those passengers have to abide by certain rules too, including that any duty-free liquids that are more than 3.4 ounces, or 100 milliliters, must be packed in a “transparent, secure, tamper-evident bag by the retailer and do not show signs of tampering when presented to TSA for screening.” Travelers must also have the original receipt for the liquids, and it must show the purchase was made within 48 hours. Otherwise, again, they must be in your checked luggage.