Security measures in airports have become increasingly strict in the past few years. For the most part, visitors will not encounter any problems while proceeding through security at Dublin Airport Terminal 1. However, it is a good idea to refresh yourself on the list of items that are prohibited on airplanes, especially in regards to EU regulations on liquids, gels and pastes.

During peak travel periods, queues at security screening points can be long. It’s not possible to control what other passengers are doing, but you can at least see to it that the time you spend at the checkpoint goes by quickly and without incident by carefully organising your luggage.

Prohibitions concerning liquids and gels are among the most confusing, and these are usually what end up slowing down the screening process. The easiest way to avoid having any problems is to relegate all of your liquids and gels (including toothpaste, perfumes and beverages) to your checked luggage. Whatever is carried aboard the passenger cabin must be kept in small 100-millilitre bottles. All bottles carried on the plane must be kept in a plastic re-sealable litre-sized bag.

The basic list of prohibited items is predictable, with relatively little to concern the average traveller:

Checked in luggage

  • Checked baggage

  • Blasting caps

  • Ammunition

  • Grenades, mines and similar explosives

  • Smoke-generating canisters and cartridges

  • Gunpowder

  • Plastic explosives and dynamite

Carry-on luggage

  • Sharp-pointed objects (razor blades, box cutters, most scissors, martial arts equipment, etc.)

  • Projectile-firing devices (firearms, replicas and toy guns, signal flares, harpoon guns, slingshots and catapults, etc.)

  • Blunt instruments (bats, clubs, batons, etc.)

  • Stunning devices (tasers, stun batons, pepper spray, animal repellent, etc.)

  • Workmen’s tools (crowbars, drills, drill bits, saws, hammers, etc.)

  • Explosives and incendiaries (detonators, mines, fireworks, ammunition, etc.)