There are rules for what items can travel with you in your hand baggage and what items must be left behind. To help you prepare, this page outlines what can be brought with you on to the plane in your hand baggage, including liquids, medicines and baby food.
This list is not exhaustive. Your airline may have additional rules that you will need to check with them. We advise you to read the list below for the most common prohibited items. If an object is determined to be a security risk, a security officer has the right of refusal.
This applies to all liquids, gels, creams, pastes, balms and aerosols. You can find a list of examples of the different liquids on the Liquids in hand baggage page.
Exceptions
Liquids in containers up to 100ml. They must all fit in a closed, transparent, 1-litre ziplock bag. You are allowed to bring additional liquids, if you can prove you need them – for example, with a doctor’s prescription.
If you plan to travel with a firearm and/or ammunition, it must be placed in your hold baggage. You must also be able to show a permit for this in some cases. Toy guns which cannot be distinguished from real guns must be placed in your hold baggage.
All types of firearms, such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns
Toy guns, replica and imitation guns that bear striking similarity to real weapons
Firearm components, excluding telescopic viewers
Air pressure and CO2 guns, such as pistols, shotguns, rifles and BB guns
Alarm pistols and start guns
Bows, crossbows and arrows
Harpoon guns and spear guns
Catapults
Etc.
Items classified as disabling equipment are not allowed on board. This include devices that are designed specifically to anaesthetise, stun or otherwise immobilise human or non-human subjects, such as:
Devices that can inflict shocks, like stun guns, laser weapons and cattle prods
Devices to stun or kill animals
Chemical substances, gases and sprays, such as mace, pepper spray, tear gas, acid spray and sprays to repel animals, which may also disable or immobilise humans
Etc.
You may not take any sharp items which could be used as weapons in your hand baggage. Please note that this also includes house, kitchen or garden objects.
Ice axes and ice picks
Razor blades *
Credit card knifes
Box cutters
Blades which have a length of over 6 cm
Shears which have a length of over 6 cm from hinge to point
Martial arts equipment with a sharp point or edge
Swords and sabres
Crow/jimmy bars
Drills, drill bits and drill chucks, including portable cordless electric drills
Tools with a blade or shaft that exceeds 6 cm and may be used as a weapon, such as portable cordless electric saws
Saws, including portable cordless electric saws
Soldering irons/torches
Nail and/or staple guns
Etc.
Exceptions
Sharp objects with a sharp section that does not exceed 6 cm are permitted, as are * disposable razor blades with a fixed shear blade.
Blunt objects that can be used to hit, cause serious bodily harm or that can be used to threaten the safety of the aircraft, including:
Baseball, softball and cricket bats
Clubs and sticks, such as wooden poles, cues, bludgeons or truncheons
Martial arts items
Etc.
The following items may not travel with you, whether in hold or hand baggage.
Explosives and flammable substances and equipment with which serious injury can be caused or with which the safety of the aircraft can be endangered, or which give the impression that they can be used for this purpose, such as:
Ammunition
Detonators
Detonators and fuses
Replicas or imitation of explosive objects
Mines, grenades and/or other military explosives
Fireworks and other pyrotechnic materials
Smoke cans and patterns
Dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives
Etc.
Exceptions Small lighters and safety matches may only be taken if they are worn on the person. Put the item in your pocket rather than in your hand baggage.
Chemical or toxic substances are completely forbidden in your baggage, when they could jeopardise the health of your fellow passengers and crew, harm property of other passengers, or pose a risk to health and safety on the aircraft. This includes:
Acids and alkalis, such as 'wet' batteries which may leak
Caustic or bleaching agents, such as mercury and chlorine
Neutralising agents in spray can, such as mace, pepper spray and tear gas
Fire extinguishers
Infectious or hazardous biological material like infected blood, bacteria and viruses
Materials that could spontaneously ignite or ignite
Toxins
Radioactive material, such as medicinal or commercial isotopes
Printers or toner cartridges
Etc.
For customs purposes, not everything can be brought in or out of the Netherlands. The following items are forbidden in both hand and hold baggage:
Drugs, such as hashish, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth or other narcotics.
Weapons, fake weapons, pepper spray, ammunition and explosives
Protected animal and plant species - also no products made from them, such as shoes made from crocodile leather or ivory jewellery.
Your airline may impose additional rules on what you may or may not take along on the plane. Always check with your airline which objects you cannot take with you in your luggage. These rules often include:
Lithium batteries
Items that use lithium batteries, such as:
Hoverboards
Airboards
Oxboards
E-skates
Waveboards
U-runners
Battery powered suitcases
Damaged, faulty or withdrawn portable electronic devices
Electronic cigarettes - often only in hand baggage
Exceptions
If you use a self-balancing device due to a physical disability, please ask for permission from your airline before departure.
What items you can and can’t travel with on the plane
Hold baggage rules and what constitutes an ‘odd-sized’ item
Schiphol is easy to reach by train, bus, taxi and car.
You can check in online or at Schiphol. What works for you?
Check your passport’s validity and any visa requirements
Be well-prepared and clear security with ease