TSA allows formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food over 3.4 oz in a carry-on, outside the quart bag, and your baby doesn’t have to be with you. At UK airports, formula and baby food need the baby with you, but breast milk doesn’t.
Flying from
What are you taking?
Carry-on rule
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At a TSA checkpoint
Tell the officer at the start that you’re carrying them, and take them out of your bag to be screened on their own. Officers may test the liquids for explosives, but screening never puts anything into them.
TSA says its X-ray machines don’t harm food or medicine. If you’d rather the milk wasn’t X-rayed or opened, say so, and you and your carry-on get extra screening instead. You can ask for private screening at any time.
At EU airports
The European Commission allows baby food and milk over 100 ml in hand luggage, for use during the trip, and you may be asked to show it’s genuine.
Common questions
Does breast milk go in the quart bag?
No, TSA says formula, breast milk and baby food over 3.4 oz don't need to fit in the quart-size bag.
Can breast milk go in a checked bag?
Yes, TSA lists breast milk and formula as allowed in checked bags, and UK guidance allows breast milk, frozen too, in hold luggage.
Rules come from TSA’s pages on baby liquids and traveling with children, the UK government’s hand luggage guide and the European Commission. Checked against published data from TSA, GOV.UK and European Commission.
See all 8 sources
TSA, What Can I Bring?: Breast Milk
TSA, What Can I Bring?: Baby Formula
TSA Cares, Traveling with Children: liquid formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food
TSA, What Can I Bring?: Gel Ice Packs
GOV.UK, Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: overview
GOV.UK, Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: liquids
GOV.UK, Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: baby food and baby milk
European Commission, Mobility and Transport: information for air travellers
General guidance from airline, TSA and FAA rules, checked on the date shown. Rules change, and the airline and security officers decide on the day: check your airline before you fly.