Good news for you frequent fliers who like to light up… the Transportation Security Administration just announced it’s lifting its ban on lighters. Beginning August 4th airline passengers will be allowed to carry on most types of cigarette lighters. TSA agents say they will no longer confiscate disposable butane lighters, such as Bics, and refillable lighters, like Zippos. However, torch-style lighters, which have hotter flames, will still be banned.
TSA administrators say easing the ban will allow airport screeners more time to search for greater threats, such as explosives. According to the TSA, lighters are currently the leading item seized at airport checkpoints. Reports show more than 20,000 lighters are seized each day. Even more shocking (to me anyway) is that it costs the TSA roughly $4 million a year to dispose of the confiscated lighters because they contain hazardous materials.
You’ll recall Congress banned lighters from flights after Richard Reid used matches to try to light explosives hidden in his shoes while on a Paris-to-Miami flight in 2001. Lawmakers were concerned Reid wannabes might succeed if they had lighters so they banned all lighters from flights in April 2005. Ironically, other items, which could be used to ignite a bomb, including matches and small batteries, have never been banned from flights.
The other rule change, which goes into effect on August 4th, applies to anyone wanting to bring more than three ounces of breast milk on a flight. In addition, the TSA is allowing travelers without infants to carry breast milk on planes to accommodate working mothers. Currently, passengers carrying breast milk must be accompanied by an infant, but the new rules drop that requirement.
“This rule has been a pain for working mothers who pumped breast milk while on a business trip without their child and wanted to carry more than three ounces home with them,” a TSA spokeswoman told news reporters. “They had to throw larger amounts in the trash and that was not only wasteful but emotionally charged.”
The ban on breast milk came as part of a complete ban on liquids, gels and aerosols, which was implemented last year following a thwarted terror plot in Great Britain aimed at blowing up trans-Atlantic flight headed to the United States. That ban was revised a few months later to allow travelers to carry on liquids and gels in 3-ounce containers in one clear, zip-top plastic bag.
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