On this page (3 sections)
Where it is and hours
Airside, by gates 1 to 20, open 04:00 to 22:00; past security, which is the whole point of it.
Boots sits airside, in the departure lounge near gates 1 to 20, and opens daily from 04:00 to 22:00, so it covers all but the very latest flights. Because it is past security, anything you buy here, including liquids and toiletries, comes with you to the gate with no 100ml limit and no clear plastic bag, which is the single most useful thing to know about it. If your own toiletries were over the limit and got stopped at security, this is where you replace them without a fuss. The liquids guide sets out exactly what the rule catches and what it does not.
What Boots stocks
The useful airport slice of a high-street Boots: travel toiletries, medicines, make-up, sun care and a meal deal.
The range is the practical airport subset of a high-street Boots. Travel toiletries and miniatures cover the things people forget: a toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo and shower gel in carry-on sizes. On the health side there is pain relief, allergy and hayfever tablets, vitamins, plasters and travel-sickness remedies, the over-the-counter basics you might need before a flight. Make-up runs to names like Max Factor, L'Oreal and Rimmel, there is Soltan sun care for a beach holiday, and travel accessories stretch from adaptors to phone chargers.
The meal deal, a main, a snack and a drink for one set price, is one of the cheaper lunches you will find past security, with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options in the fridge. It is a useful fallback when the sit-down places are busy or you want to eat at the gate.
Worth knowing
Two reasons to make a deliberate stop: the liquids sidestep and the cheap meal deal.
Two things make Boots worth a deliberate stop rather than a browse. First, the liquids point: buy sun cream, moisturiser or a full-size toiletry here and it is already past security, so it rides in your hand luggage without counting against the 100ml rule or needing the bag. That makes the airside Boots the natural fix if security stopped something on the way through. Second, the meal deal is a genuinely cheap alternative to the sit-down food and drink outlets, handy on an early flight or a tight budget.
One caveat: treat it as a health and beauty shop rather than a full dispensing pharmacy, so sort any prescription medicines before you travel rather than relying on the airport. For anything Boots does not carry, the wider shops guide covers what else is airside, and the fragrance and cosmetics bargains are argued over next door in the duty free hall.