|
|
[ INDUSTRY NEWS]
Empty lighters allowed in checked luggage
Effective May 16, new, empty lighters again were permitted in checked luggage as they are not considered hazardous material. The Transportation Security Administration prohibited-items list was updated and it now makes it clear that these lighters are permitted in checked luggage.
"This is consistent with long-standing Department of Transportation hazardous materials policy and clarifies that empty lighters are not considered hazardous materials," said Greg Booth, president and CEO of Zippo Manufacturing Co., Bradford, Pa.
On April 14, the TSA, citing Section 4025 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, banned all lighters from the passenger cabin of aircraft. That law, coupled with the previous ban on all lighters in checked luggage, made it impossible for air travelers to bring empty lighters onto airplanes.
At that time, Booth said, "We do agree with the TSA that fueled lighters could pose a potential security risk if carried into the passenger cabin of a commercial aircraft. However, we strongly oppose the interpretation by the Department of Transportation that prohibits packing lighters in checked luggage. In testing performed by Zippo engineers, as well as investigations done by the Lighter Association, Inc., not a single bit of evidence points to lighters being hazardous in checked luggage. Specifically, we have not uncovered one instance in which lighters inside checked luggage exploded, caught fire or otherwise posed a danger to the aircraft."
The revision to the prohibited-items list applies only to lighters sold empty.
"The government recognized that a new, never-filled Zippo lighter cannot in any way be construed as dangerous," Booth said. "They were also sympathetic to the fact that the exclusion of all lighters on commercial airlines caused a tremendous inconvenience to Zippo consumers."
|
