Medicines on a plane: what can you carry in hand luggage? Rules for 2026

Medicines are allowed in hand luggage — and that is exactly where they should fly. Liquid medicines needed during the journey are exempt from the 100 ml limit; you just have to present them separately at security. Prescription medicines are worth documenting, and psychotropic or narcotic preparations require a special certificate. Below are the rules for 2026, point by point.

Important: This article is for information only and does not replace a consultation with a doctor or pharmacist. Aviation security rules and customs regulations can change — before flying, check the current information from your airline, airport and destination country.

Are liquid medicines subject to the 100 ml limit?

Every passenger knows the standard EU security rule: liquids, aerosols and gels in hand luggage only in containers up to 100 ml, packed into a transparent bag of up to 1 litre. It stems from the EU civil aviation security rules (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1998).

Less well known is the exemption written into the same rules: the limit does not apply to liquids to be used during the journey for medical purposes or special dietary requirements, including baby food. In practice this means a child’s syrup, an antibiotic suspension, insulin, eye drops in a larger bottle or a medical nutrition drink may exceed 100 ml — if they are needed during the trip.

How this works at the checkpoint is described in the passenger guide of Poland’s Civil Aviation Authority (ULC):

• declare and present medical liquids over 100 ml separately — place them on the scanner belt apart from the rest of your bag;
• expect additional screening (staff may ask you to open the container or test the liquid with explosive-detection equipment);
• original, clearly labelled packaging speeds the whole procedure up considerably — a pharmacy label with your name on a dispensed medicine works in your favour.

The common-sense rule: you take through security the quantity needed for the journey, not the stock for the whole holiday. The stock can fly in checked baggage — as long as temperature will not harm it, more on which below.

What documents should you carry for prescription medicines?

For typical prescription medicines carried in reasonable quantities for personal use, there is no formalised documentation requirement within the EU. There is, however, checking practice — and this is where documents make the difference. Both the Polish Ministry of Health information for patients travelling with medicines and the guide on granica.gov.pl recommend being able to show that a medicine serves your own treatment:

• a printout or PDF of your e-prescription — the simplest proof that the medicine was prescribed to you;
• a doctor’s certificate, preferably in English, stating the active substance (a Polish brand name often means nothing abroad) — particularly useful outside the EU;
• matching details — the name on the prescription and in the passport should match; carrying relatives’ medicines “while you’re at it” tends to raise questions.

Quantity matters: the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate (GIF) describes carrying medicines for personal use as carrying an amount corresponding to one person’s treatment needs. A dozen packages of the same product stops looking like personal use and may be treated as trade.

Remember the other end of the trip too: the destination country has its own laws. A substance legal in Poland may be controlled elsewhere (the classic example: pseudoephedrine in Japan). Before flying outside the EU, check the destination country’s embassy website.

Psychotropics and opioids — when is a certificate required?

A separate, more formalised path applies to medicines containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances — e.g. strong painkillers (opioids), some sleeping and sedative medicines, and ADHD medication.

For travel within the Schengen area there is a dedicated certificate (the so-called Article 75 certificate of the Schengen Implementing Convention). The key facts, as described by the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate:

• the certificate is issued at the patient’s request, based on a prescription or medical records;
• it is valid for a maximum of 30 days and only authorises carrying the medicines on your person (not sending them by post or courier);
• apply before you travel — the certificate is issued by the competent pharmaceutical inspection authority, and the detailed procedure and application form are on the GIF website;
• when travelling outside the Schengen area, the requirements are set by the destination country — confirm them with its embassy or consulate, because in some states even substances common here are restricted.

If you take such a medicine long-term, treat the certificate like a visa: arranged in advance, with dates matched to the trip. A check without the document can end with the medicine being confiscated — and in some countries, far worse.

Insulin, syringes and needles — what about them?

Medical equipment needed during the flight is allowed in hand luggage — this includes insulin pens, needles, glucose meters and insulin pumps. In practice, a few rules are worth following:

• Insulin always travels in the cabin. Hold temperatures can drop below freezing, and frozen insulin irreversibly loses its effect. The same applies to other biological medicines and “fridge” products.
• A doctor’s certificate about your treatment (preferably in English) — not always formally required, but with needles and vials in hand luggage it saves discussion at the checkpoint.
• A cooling case or medical thermos — insulin should be protected from heat while travelling; opened pens tolerate room temperature for the period stated in the leaflet, but not a hot car or a beach.
• Insulin pumps and CGM systems — inform the security staff; some manufacturers recommend manual checks instead of scanning. Check your manufacturer’s guidance before flying.

How does travel temperature affect medicines?

Most leaflets specify storage conditions — usually “below 25°C” — and a plane journey can break those conditions in several places at once:

• the baggage hold: temperatures can go below zero in flight and get high on the apron in summer;
• a hot car and its boot: on a hot day, a car interior quickly exceeds 50°C;
• the beach and the hotel windowsill: direct sun ruins suppositories, transdermal patches and aerosol products, among others.

The practical takeaway: pack temperature-sensitive medicines (insulin, hormones, refrigerated probiotics, some eye drops) into your hand luggage, ideally in an insulated case, and check the storage conditions in the leaflet before you leave, not after you return. For more on assembling a travel kit — including what to pack beyond medicines — see our guide: Travel medicine kit — what to take abroad.

Hand luggage or checked baggage — what goes where?

What you are packing	Hand luggage	Checked baggage
Medicines taken daily	Yes — always with you	Only a backup supply
Liquid medicines over 100 ml needed during travel	Yes — declare separately at screening	Possible, no liquid limit
Insulin and “fridge” medicines	Yes — the hold risks freezing	No
Needles, injection pens, glucose meter	Yes — with a doctor’s certificate	Possible, but pointless if needed in flight
Psychotropic/narcotic medicines with a certificate	Yes — on your person, with the document	Not recommended
The full holiday supply	Amount for the journey + 2–3 days’ reserve	The rest of the supply (if temperature is no threat)
Medicinal aerosols	In reasonable quantity for travel needs	Yes, with a protective cap

The logic is simple: anything whose interruption would be a health problem flies in the cabin. Checked baggage gets delayed, lost or frozen — none of those scenarios should decide your therapy.

Pre-flight checklist

• Count your doses for the whole stay + a 2–3 day reserve (delays happen).
• Check expiry dates — replace any medicine that will expire mid-trip with a fresh package.
• Download your e-prescriptions (PDF) and prepare an English-language doctor’s certificate for prescription medicines.
• Verify whether any medicine contains controlled substances — if so, apply for the Schengen travel certificate well in advance.
• Check the destination country’s rules (embassy/consulate) — especially outside the EU.
• Look at your airline’s website — carriers may add their own specifics (e.g. on dry ice for cooling medicines or medical equipment), and hand-luggage dimensions differ between airlines.
• Pack liquid medicines separately, in original packaging, so they are easy to present at screening.
• Carry your dosing plan on your phone — the schedule export feature in mojApteczka generates a readable medication timetable you can show a doctor abroad, and QR sharing lets you hand your medicine list to fellow travellers or a caregiver in seconds.

For the complete list of what belongs in a holiday first-aid kit beyond medicines, see our holiday medicine kit checklist for 2026.

A calm flight starts in your medicine cabinet

The rules are less scary than they look: medicines fly in hand luggage, medical liquids have an exemption from the 100 ml limit, and the documents — from an e-prescription printout to the Schengen certificate — are arranged before the trip, not at the gate. Most stress comes not from screening but from chaos: uncounted doses, an expired syrup discovered at the hotel, no medication list at a foreign doctor’s appointment.

That chaos can be eliminated in fifteen minutes. Scan your medicines into mojApteczka — you will see expiry dates and package stock, and before departure you can export your dosing schedule and share it with family. The Android app is available on Google Play.

Related mojApteczka features: Schedule export · QR sharing · Expiry alerts

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Questions about travelling with medicines? Write to us at kontakt@mojapteczka.pl — we are happy to help!