Originally Posted by Dovster
Bart, you are unquestionably right. The TSA did not ban cigarette lighters for years and would not have suddenly decided to do so.
My objection to the TSA's role in this farce is extending the ban to include Zippos.
The TSA's logic basically went as follows:
1. Cigarette lighters are not dangerous. If they were, we would have banned them ourselves.
2. Congress banned lighters containing butane.
3. If passengers can not take one type of non-dangerous item aboard, we will also stop them from taking another type of non-dangerous item.
If the government wants me to get rid of $2 disposable Bic that I picked up somewhere, I will be a little annoyed but not truly upset. If it demands that I get rid of the Zippo I have carried since Vietnam -- or one of the various Zippos I have bought as souvenirs for my collection -- it is going to bother me a lot more.
I can imagine where someone who has a $300 gold Dunhill lighter would be infuriated. True, it contains butane but would not be in violation of Congressional law if emptied before boarding. Then the owner would merely have to refill it upon arrival.
Agreed. TSA took the Congressional ban one step further by banning ALL lighters. Zippos certainly could have been made the exception to the rule since the lighter fuel is absorbed by the inner filter. On that point, yes, TSA certainly didn't help matters much.
As for expensive lighters such as the Colibri (sp?) and other similar "torch" lighters, I'm afraid we've never had much choice in that matter. They've always been prohibited by FAA regulations long before TSA came into existence.
However, your point about empty lighters is valid for checked baggage. If you empty your lighter, you may place it in your checked luggage and we will not confiscate it.