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What goes wrong

The bottle was too big

Updated

On this page8
Two rules, and satisfying the one you read about is not enough.

How it happens

A maker finds the hazmat figure, which is 500 mL per container, builds a generous travel bottle to it, and sells it as cabin-friendly. The security screening limit is far smaller and it is the one at the checkpoint.

Or the opposite

A maker designs to the small security figure and then describes the bottle as meeting federal requirements generally, which is true of one rule and not a complete statement. Being precise about which rule is part of the claim.

Capacity, not contents, is what is measured

The hazmat limit is on the capacity of each container, and screening looks at the container as well. A part-filled large bottle is a large bottle for both purposes.

Checked baggage is genuinely different

The hazmat exception covers carry-on and checked baggage, while the liquids screening restriction applies at the passenger checkpoint. A larger size has a legitimate market for checked bags and should be described that way.

So sell the size for the use

A carry-on range well under the screening figure, and a larger one described for checked baggage or for home refilling. Two honest products, rather than one with an ambiguous claim.

Do not print the security number on the bottle

It is set by TSA and changes without a rulemaking, and a molded or printed figure outlives the rule. Describing a bottle by its actual capacity is accurate for as long as the bottle exists.

Our shelf is already on the right side

It tops out at 120 mL and 127 of the 203 containers are at or under 100 mL, so building a compliant carry-on range from it is straightforward. The mistake is reachable only by going outside this shelf.

References

49 CFR 175.10, Exceptions for passengers, crewmembers, and air operators. Paragraph (a)(1) excepts non-radioactive medicinal and toilet articles for personal use, including aerosols, in carry-on and checked baggage, requiring aerosol release devices to be protected against inadvertent release and limiting each person to 2 kg or 2 L in aggregate with no single container over 0.5 kg or 500 mL. law.cornell.edu
Transportation Security Administration, What Can I Bring? The carry-on liquids limit is a security requirement set and changed by TSA rather than by a hazardous materials rulemaking, so it should be checked at source. tsa.gov
Written from federal regulation and from measured catalog data. The hazardous materials figures here are from 49 CFR 175.10 and are current as cited; the carry-on liquids limit is a TSA security requirement that changes without a rulemaking, so check TSA rather than any secondary source including this one. Airlines may also impose their own conditions.