I flew from Birmingham Airport after rule change and realised my mistake too late

After months of build-up and millions of pounds spent upgrading Birmingham Airport's security hall, it was a bit of an anti-climax when June rolled around and that pesky 100ml liquids rule was still in place.

BHX had been ready to relax its liquids restrictions ahead of the government's initial June 1 deadline, but never got a chance to do so as the Department for Transport temporarily reintroduced the 100ml limit to 'enable further improvements to be made to the new checkpoint systems'.

Personally, I was just happy that I no longer needed to cram all of my liquids into a tiny plastic bag to get through security. It's the worst part of packing, in my opinion, trying to manoeuvre all of my makeup and mini toiletries into a 20cm by 20cm bag like a not-fun game of Tetris.

Read more: Birmingham Airport more than doubles price of fast track tickets for 'quicker' queue times

Passengers are still restricted to 100ml containers for now, but there's no limit on how many you're allowed and you no longer need to take them out of your hand luggage for screening. When I jetted off to Italy the other week, I was glad not to be forced to choose between my moisturiser or my face wash, my foundation or my concealer due to lack of space. I packed all of my makeup and skincare into my toiletries bag without a second thought.

Unlike some of the horror stories from BHX passengers of late, we breezed through security in less than 15 minutes. Airport staff were pacing the length of the line, reminding travellers to keep their liquids inside their suitcases.

The whole process couldn't have been more straightforward. It wasn't until two weeks later that I realised my mistake.

After a glorious fortnight in Tuscany, I arrived back at Pisa Airport for my return flight, only to see those dreaded plastic bags laid out at the side of the security queue and signs telling travellers that all liquids had to fit inside one bag per passenger.

I should have checked the rules for my destination airport before I flew out, but in all the holiday excitement, it just didn't occur to me. I ended up having to bin a few bits of makeup as it wouldn't all fit - not the end of the world, but annoying nonetheless.

It's all well and good easing the liquids limits in the UK, but many passengers might find they still have to follow the old rules on their return journeys. Some airports in other parts of Europe also plan to drop the 100ml liquids rule this year, but it's worth checking before you fly to avoid making the same mistake I did.