Yes, ghee is allowed on flights from India, within limits. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) list allows ghee in cabin baggage only under the liquids rule (100 ml per container, in one clear one-litre bag) and in checked baggage up to 5 kg or litres per passenger. Where you land is a separate question, decided by that country's customs, not by Indian airport security.
At a glance
- The BCAS list, as published by Delhi Airport, marks ghee "yes" for cabin baggage under the liquids rule and for checked baggage "limited to 05 kgs/liters per pax".
- The liquids rule, per the Airports Authority of India, is 100 ml per container in one clear, resealable one-litre bag; a 500 ml jar or a 1 litre tin must go in the hold.
- Delhi Airport's own page lists "Coconut & Ghee" as not permitted in either bag, so ask your airport and airline before flying.
- Arriving in the US, APHIS requires all agricultural products to be declared and lists butter and butter oil as admissible; Great Britain bars milk-based products from outside the EU.
- Pack a sealed, rigid container, tape the lid, double-bag it and cushion it in the middle of the suitcase; weigh the bag, since the ghee counts towards your airline's allowance.
Is ghee allowed in flight from India?
Yes. A BCAS list of items allowed in cabin or hold baggage names "Ghee (Clarified Butter)/Cooking Oil" and marks it yes for both. In the cabin it is allowed "as per LAG restrictions", meaning the liquids, aerosols and gels rule. In the hold it is allowed, "Limited to 05 Kgs/liters per pax", per passenger.
That list is published by Delhi Airport, whose file name calls it the list of prohibited items as per BCAS order. It is the plainest official statement on ghee we could find. BCAS's own website loads its permitted and prohibited list from a database, and when we tried it the list would not load, so we rely on the copy Delhi Airport publishes.
Two points matter before you pack. First, the cabin allowance is tiny: only containers of 100 ml or less, as the next sections show. Second, the list is "indicative", in its own word, and the PDF's document title dates it to a BCAS order of March 2022, so it may not be the latest version. Delhi Airport's own page is stricter, as the next section shows. Check with your airline and airport before you fly.
Why do people say ghee is not allowed in flight?
Mostly because of the liquids rule, and partly because official pages disagree. A tin or jar of ghee bigger than 100 ml is not allowed in hand baggage, so travellers who carry one through security lose it. Some airport pages go further and list ghee as not permitted at all.
Delhi Airport's own security and baggage page is the clearest example. Under "Prohibited Items" it says some articles are not permitted to be taken on to the airport, "Please do not pack them in either hand baggage or check-in baggage", and the list includes "Coconut & Ghee". Yet the BCAS list linked from that same page allows ghee in both bags within limits.
We cannot tell you which of the two a screener at Delhi will follow on the day. So the honest answer is "allowed under the national list, but check with your airport and airline".
How much ghee can you carry in hand baggage?
Very little. The BCAS list allows ghee in cabin baggage only as per the liquids, aerosols and gels rule. The Airports Authority of India states that rule as items of no more than 100 ml each, in small quantities for the journey, carried in one clear, transparent, re-sealable one-litre plastic bag.
The Airports Authority's list covers "Liquid/Aerosol/Gel/Paste or items of similar consistency". It applies to hand baggage on flights from civil airports in India, and on Indian-registered aircraft flying from foreign airports. The only exceptions it names are medicine or an inhaler with a prescription, and baby food. Ghee is not one of them.
Delhi Airport's page gives the same rule in its own words: containers of no more than 100 ml, several allowed up to 1,000 ml in all, placed in a transparent, resealable bag. In practice:
- A 100 ml container or smaller can go in your liquids bag, with your other liquids.
- A 200 ml jar is twice the limit. Delhi Airport words the rule as a container's maximum capacity, so a half-empty 200 ml jar does not qualify.
- A 500 ml jar or a 1 litre tin is five or ten times the limit. It has to go in checked baggage.
Can you carry ghee in checked baggage?
Yes, up to 5 kg or 5 litres per passenger under the BCAS list, which marks ghee "Yes" for hold baggage, "Limited to 05 Kgs/liters per pax". Your airline's checked-baggage weight allowance applies as well, and the ghee counts towards it like anything else in the bag.
The list gives the limit as kilograms or litres, and ghee is sold both ways. A kilogram and a litre of ghee are not the same amount; our guide to converting ghee from litres to kilograms shows the arithmetic if your tins are labelled one way and you want to compare them.
Delhi Airport's page notes that each airline has its own allowance for checked baggage and that extra bags may cost an excess baggage fee. Read the baggage page of the airline on your ticket as well as the BCAS list, because its weight allowance and fees apply to the bag the ghee is in.
What are the cabin, checked and destination rules for ghee?
Indian airport security decides what leaves India in your bags; the customs or agriculture service of the country you land in decides what comes in. The table puts the rules we could confirm side by side, each with the body that sets it. Where a row says "not named", that body does not mention ghee.
| Stage | Whose rule | What it says | What it means for ghee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabin baggage, leaving India | BCAS list (published by Delhi Airport); Airports Authority of India | Ghee yes "as per LAG restrictions"; liquids, gels and pastes at most 100 ml each, in one clear one-litre bag | Only a container of 100 ml or less |
| Checked baggage, leaving India | BCAS list (published by Delhi Airport) | Ghee yes, "Limited to 05 Kgs/liters per pax" | Up to 5 kg or 5 litres per passenger, within the airline's weight allowance |
| Delhi Airport's own page | Delhi Airport | Lists "Coconut & Ghee" among items not to pack in either hand or check-in baggage | Stricter than the BCAS list; ask before flying from Delhi |
| Arriving in the United States | US Department of Agriculture, APHIS | Butter and butter oil may enter from any country; most dairy from countries with foot-and-mouth disease not allowed; all agricultural products must be declared | Ghee not named; declare it and let the officer decide |
| Arriving in Great Britain | UK government | From outside the EU and neighbours, no milk or milk-based products except infant milk, infant food or special medical food | Ghee not named, but made from milk; expect it to be refused |
Does the country you are flying to allow ghee?
It depends on the country. Indian airport security only governs the departure. Once you land, the destination's customs or agriculture service applies its own dairy import rules, and those can refuse ghee that Indian security let through.
United States. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says travellers entering the US must declare all agricultural or wildlife products to Customs and Border Protection. Its dairy page says most milk and dairy items from countries with foot-and-mouth disease are not allowed, and that certain items may enter from any country, among them butter and butter oil. Ghee is not named on that page. Declare it on arrival and let the officer decide whether it may enter.
Great Britain. The UK government's guidance on bringing food into Great Britain says that from countries outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland you cannot bring in "milk or milk-based products", except powdered infant milk, infant food or special food needed for medical reasons. The page does not name ghee, but ghee is made from milk. Plan on leaving it at home.
The UAE, Australia and elsewhere. We could not open an official UAE or Australian government page on personal food imports in a form we could check and link, so we will not state their rules second-hand. Read the customs or biosecurity page of the country you are flying to, and declare food when its arrival form asks you to.
How should you pack a tin of ghee for checked baggage?
Pack it so that it cannot leak, cannot break and is easy to find if your bag is opened for inspection. The steps below are ordinary packing sense rather than any official rule, apart from the limits in the first step.
- Check the rules first. Confirm the BCAS limit (5 kg or litres per passenger), your airline's weight allowance and your departure airport's page. For international trips, read the destination's customs or agriculture page before you buy.
- Use a sealed, rigid container. A factory-sealed metal tin or a screw-top jar with its inner seal intact is better than a container you have opened and refilled.
- Tape the lid. Wrap tape around the join between lid and body so the lid cannot work loose.
- Bag it twice. Put the container in a sealed plastic bag, then a second one, so any leak stays inside.
- Cushion it in the middle of the suitcase. Wrap it in clothes and keep it away from the shell and the wheels.
- Keep the label visible. A clear product label helps a screener or customs officer see what it is, and you will need to name it if you declare it.
- Weigh the bag. The ghee and its container count towards your allowance; make sure the total stays inside your airline's allowance.
Once you arrive, store an opened jar as you would at home; our guide to storing ghee covers containers and keeping it dry. A bilona ghee such as Himdhara's is no different from any other ghee under these rules: the same 100 ml cabin limit and the same checked-baggage limit apply.
The short version
Ghee is allowed on flights from India. Under the BCAS list it can go in hand baggage only as a container of 100 ml or less inside your one-litre liquids bag, and in checked baggage up to 5 kg or 5 litres per passenger. Delhi Airport's own page lists ghee as not permitted, and the airline's weight allowance applies, so check with both before you fly. For international trips, the destination's customs rules matter more than airport security: the US asks you to declare it, and Britain bars milk-based products from outside the EU.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, published by Delhi International Airport. List of prohibited items as per BCAS order (Annexures I–IV). Delhi Airport.
- Delhi International Airport (2026). Security & Baggage Guide at Delhi Airport. newdelhiairport.in.
- Airports Authority of India (2026). Security Information: Prohibited Item List (Chennai Airport). aai.aero.
- US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (2026). International Traveler: Milk, Dairy, and Egg Products. APHIS.
- UK Government. Bringing food into Great Britain: Meat, dairy, fish and animal products. GOV.UK.