A traveller going through security at Heathrow Airport has accused staff of “daylight robbery” after being told she would have to hand over her expensive lipsticks as they were classed as liquids.
Shadia Black, a Swiss law student and model, was heading home after spending time in London when she faced obstacles getting through the UK’s largest airport.
In a TikTok video, Ms Black said that she had been pulled aside and told by staff she would be unable to proceed with the amount of liquids she was carrying: an Estée Lauder face cleanser and face serum.
“I knew it was travel size and I knew how much you are allowed,” she said. She claims security then pulled out three Estée Lauder lipsticks worth £90 and said they would need to confiscate them.
“They started putting all my lipsticks in [a clear] bag. They said it was liquid. It’s a misuse of position. They didn’t throw it away. They just put it aside,” she told MailOnline.
“The rules are the rules. I didn’t like the way staff were handling things. I was enraged.”
Ms Black left the items without a fight, she said, as she didn’t wanted to miss her flight, but added that she wanted “people in power to be kept in check. I am fuming. I’ve never been so mad before.
“The airport staff are brutally robbing people. They tell you have too many liquids in your bag and then they take it and put it aside but not in the bin.”
On the Heathrow website, under the question “Can you tell me what is consider a liquid?”, solid lipstick is explicitly listed as “not considered a liquid”.
A spokesperson for the airport told The Independent: “Our teams are trained to swiftly and securely ensure hand luggage only contains permitted items and we apologise if an error has been made.
“If any passenger has feedback from their journey through Heathrow we would always encourage them to contact us directly so we can investigate.”
