Posted on November 26, 2009 by Fiona Hilliard

The Air Travel Liquid Ban is due to remain in place for another four years – so says the EU parliament. [Insert Frown-y Face Here]

They’ve already set a preliminary date for when we can finally throw away those scrawny 100ml plastic bottles and clear plastic bags. It’s April 29 2013. Non-EU passengers will be allowed to carry liquids on board connecting flights from 2011, however.

That means we’ve to put up with longer queues – and let’s face it the complete tedium of seperating innocuous items like mascara, perfumes and lip-gloss from the rest of our hand luggage, for a good while yet.

I haven’t even mentioned the waste of water.  You gulp it down before you join the security check-in queues (and head straight to the nearest loos after check-in) or you bin it in the airport lobby. Either way, it’s water, water everywhere and healthy sales for the bottled water companies of France.

Actually, it’s only now that I realise what a profit the plastic industry is minting out of the liquid ban. Plastic bags, plastic refill bottles, the mark-up on plastic bottles of water in the departure lounge…plastic fantastic.

Terrorism might have been bad news for the travel industry, but plenty of other businesses have been reaping the benefits – mark my words!