The European Union is far from united when it comes to enforcing the rules on the carrying of liquids in cabin luggage.
Leaving Gatwick for Florence on Monday, I was struck by the number of posters about the rules and the number of bins displaying toiletries that had been confiscated. Having put all my toiletries in a see-through bag of the approved size, I watched as a member of the security staff took several containers out and examined each one to make sure none of them was holding more than 100ml — and then left it to me to put them back and zip up the bag. No wonder the queues were so long.
And on the return? The only posters I noticed at Florence airport were for muscular men in designer gear and women with deep cleavages in ads that were apparently designed to further sales of mobile phones. At security, no one expressed the slightest interest in looking at any liquids.