Passenger wins £10,000 payout from Heathrow Airport after 100 ml liquids dispute

An airline passenger in the UK had won more than £10,000 in payout from Heathrow Airport after a 100ml liquids row as airport security staff confiscated nine bottles of collectible Macallan whisky worth £7,500 from Isy LeBlanc during a transfer.

London-born Isy LeBlanc, 39, had traveled from his home in New York City to Paris for a weekend away in November 2022, connecting through Heathrow.

While departing from JFK Airport, he purchased eight bottles from The Macallan’s Harmony Collection, each costing $185 (£137), along with a $2,325 (£1,722) Macallan 25 Year Old, from a Macallan boutique at the airport.

The bottles, which LeBlanc said were only available from a select number of Macallan boutiques worldwide, were intended as investment pieces for his extensive whisky collection.

However, when passing through transfer security at Heathrow on 23 November 2022, he was told the bottles breached the 100 ml hand luggage limit and had not been placed in a security tamper-evident bag (STEB) with satisfactory proof of purchase visible inside.

Instead, they had been packed in a standard carrier bag at the airport, meaning they were treated as ordinary liquids and fell foul of the restrictions.

Forced to surrender the bottles, LeBlanc chose not to continue to Paris and later said he believed he would have no legal case if he voluntarily traveled on without them.

Instead, he left the airport and stayed with family in north London before returning to the US.

After months of back-and-forth with Heathrow’s customer services and security teams—during which he said the airport initially sought to justify the decision, LeBlanc issued a small claims action in March 2023 for £7,512 plus interest, representing what he believed the bottles would have fetched at auction.

Representing himself at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court in August 2025, following two earlier hearings, he was awarded £10,042.94, covering his claim and court fees.

He said he was later informed staff had made a mistake and that he should have been permitted to take the bottles with him had he chosen not to fly.

Heathrow paid the awarded sum within two weeks of the ruling.

UK airports that use the 100ml liquids rule?

Several major UK airports still cap liquids at 100 ml per container, although many no longer require them to be placed in liquid bags, including:

Aberdeen

Cardiff

East Midlands

Glasgow International

Leeds Bradford

Liverpool

London, Luton

London, Stansted

Manchester

Newcastle

Newquay

Southampton

Liquids exceeding over 100 ml:

Liquids exceeding 100 ml are not permitted through security unless they fall within specific exemptions, such as essential medicines, baby food, or special dietary products.

Passengers may be asked to provide supporting documentation for medical items.