Travelling with your medicine
Holidays should not interrupt treatment. Hand luggage rules, security screening, cool bags, hotel fridges, time zones and border paperwork, in one place.
Last checked 3 Nov 2026
Short answer: pens travel in hand luggage in original labelled packaging with a copy of your prescription, never in the hold. Use a cool bag for the journey, a fridge at the destination, and remember the leaflet's limited below 30C allowance covers sensible transit. Ordinary time zone changes rarely affect weekly dosing.
Before you fly
- Paperwork: carry your prescription label or a provider letter. Ask your dispensing pharmacy, as most issue travel letters on request.
- Quantities: take enough for the trip plus a margin, and check the destination country's rules on personal medicine imports via its embassy guidance.
- Packing: original cartons, cap on, inside a small insulated cool bag with a chilled (not frozen) cooling element that does not touch the pen directly.
- Hand luggage only: hold temperatures can dip below freezing, and a frozen pen must be discarded.
Security, arrival and injection day
UK airport security permits medically necessary injections and needles in the cabin. Keep them accessible and declare them if asked. Labelled packaging keeps screening straightforward. On arrival, refrigerate promptly. A hotel minibar fridge is fine as long as nothing freezes, and reception can usually store medicine if your room lacks one. For time zones, once weekly dosing means ordinary holiday differences rarely matter: inject on your usual day at a convenient local time, and remember the leaflet allows moving your regular day provided at least 3 days have passed since the last dose. Full cold chain detail lives in the storage and fridge guide, and used sharps come home in a travel sharps container: see pen and needle disposal.
Travel questions
Do injection pens go in hand luggage or the hold?
Hand luggage, always. Hold temperatures can fall below freezing and a frozen pen must be discarded. Airlines and UK airport security permit medically necessary injections and needles in the cabin. Carry them in original packaging with your prescription label.
Will airport security allow needles?
Yes, for medical need. Keep pens and needles in original labelled packaging, declare them at screening if asked, and carry a copy of your prescription or a provider letter to smooth both security and border questions.
What about my injection day in a different time zone?
With once weekly dosing, ordinary holiday time differences rarely matter. Inject on your usual day at a convenient local time. The leaflet also allows changing your regular day provided at least 3 days have passed since the last dose. Confirm with your prescriber if unsure.
Can I take my medicine to any country?
Most destinations allow personal supplies of prescription medicine with proof of prescription, but rules differ and some countries restrict quantities or require paperwork. Check the destination's embassy guidance before travelling.
Sources referenced on this page
Standing primary references for every iGovy page:
- Wegovy (semaglutide) Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information Leaflet, electronic medicines compendium
- MHRA Drug Safety Update: GLP-1 receptor agonists
- NICE TA875: semaglutide for managing overweight and obesity
- General Pharmaceutical Council register of pharmacies
- MHRA Yellow Card scheme
