Unlike with the 9-11 terrorist attacks, not all Americans will remember where they were when they heard the news Thursday that a plot to blow up commercial airliners heading to the United States was thwarted in England.

But anyone who was at an airport will.

At Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, new security measures went into effect as they did everywhere else -- on the fly. People with early morning flights who arrived with carry-on bags stuffed with allowable items when they left home suddenly found themselves in possession of contraband.

If they hadn't already checked their larger suitcases, they were allowed to cram them full of lipstick, perfume, toothpaste, shampoo, water bottles, wine, contact lens solution and other liquids passengers won't be able to carry on commercial flights until further notice.

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Many opted to just throw the stuff out. Others had their banned liquids taken from them.

"I was kind of ticked off," said Brandi Crowe of Orlando, Fla., as she changed her baby's diaper in a GSP restroom.

Airport security in Orlando had made her dump out her baby's juice and formula, she said. She paid $3 for a bottle of water but couldn't take it with her on the plane.

Finally, they let her mix up a small bottle of formula just before she boarded, she said.

Most liquids have been banned because authorities say the plot in England involved liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products, and detonators disguised as electronic devices. But baby formula was on the short list of allowable liquids.

Crowe said her baby, 7-month-old Jadyn Wallington, held up well during the trip to Greenville, where they plan to visit relatives. Jadyn was hungry when they arrived, Crowe said, but she wasn't crying.

Airport garbage cans held quantities of the banned liquids Thursday, but officials wouldn't say how much was thrown away or what will become of it.

A local representative for the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees items discarded or confiscated at airport security checkpoints, said he wasn't allowed to answer questions from reporters. Rosylin Weston, GSP spokeswoman, said she hadn't seen the jettisoned items and didn't know the quantity.

Weston said travelers should arrive at the airport 90 minutes to two hours before their flights are scheduled to take off as long as the new security measures are in force. However, passengers waiting to board planes at GSP weren't subjected to as many lines, delays and canceled flights as travelers at some airports around the country.

In Chicago, Allen Bosworth said his flight home to Greenville was delayed. But that's happened before, he said by telephone from O'Hare Airport. He said he was more amazed by what lay around him: mountains of toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo and other toiletries.

London Heathrow Airport was closed to most flights from Europe, and British Airways canceled all of its flights between the airport and points in Britain, Europe and Libya, The Associated Press reported. Numerous flights from U.S. cities to Britain were canceled.

But Ravi and Mina Doshi decided to go through with plans to fly into London Gatwick Airport.

"We'll continue to fly," Ravi Doshi said after they checked their bags at GSP for their flight to Atlanta, the first leg of the journey. Doshi, a Greenville resident for 26 years, was adamant that he wouldn't let terrorists defeat him.

"We're going to make it," he said.

Other travelers also said they wouldn't alter travel plans. British-born Anthony Cronin, who was heading to Detroit, said he flies to Britain once or twice a year and is expecting a visit from friends who will be flying here next week.

Leonie Jarrett, who owns the English Country Tea Rooms in Taylors with her husband, Malcolm, said the two have plans to fly to London on Thursday via United Airlines into Heathrow.

They still are planning to make the three-week trip, she said, to celebrate her mother's 85th birthday and see their grandchildren who live in England.

One of Jarrett's daughters flew into Gatwick on Tuesday on U.S. Airways after a canceled connection from Greenville to Charlotte delayed her flight by a day, Jarrett said.

Jarrett said she is thinking about what she can and can't take on the flight next week. While it means not taking her iPod and water on the plane, Jarrett said, "That's nothing. I would much rather they were tight on security."

Not everyone will proceed with travel plans. For example, Lynn Hayes, leisure manager for Putman Travel, said, "We had one family of four call and cancel their trip" next week to London.

AAA Carolinas also is notifying its customers to arrive early at airports. During the next several weeks, it will have about 20,000 passengers on domestic flights and 10,000 on international flights.

"This is an extraordinary situation and passengers have to take the added time to clear checkpoints into consideration as they prepare to leave home on their trip," said Sarah Henshall, vice president of travel for AAA Carolinas.

She added that the less carry-on luggage passengers have, the faster and easier they can make their way through security.

Michelin North America, which routinely has people traveling internationally, had no travelers involved in the confusion at Heathrow and other London-area airports, said Lynn Mann, company spokeswoman.

The company, however, does expect at least seven of its employees to fly from the United States through London in the next seven days, she said.

Bunny Richardson said BMW Manufacturing Co. is advising employees who travel that the security status has been upgraded and they need to get to airports even earlier than usual.

"We don't have anybody stuck," she said. "We do have a person who delayed a flight. We know where everybody is. That became important after 9-11."

Staff writer E. Richard Walton