Source: Associated Press
Author: Joe Mandak

PITTSBURGH — The Transportation Security Administration has changed a rule banning unfilled lighters in checked luggage on U.S. airliners, according to new regulations posted on its Web site.

The decision was lauded by Zippo Manufacturing Co. officials, who said earlier this year that banning all lighters from luggage could have cut into their company's sales by as much as 30%.

Pennsylvania-based Zippo sold about 14 million of its signature brass-and-chrome lighters last year. It also sells millions of lighters to collectors, who were barred from flying with their collections to swap meets even if their lighters weren't filled.

"The government recognized that a new, never-filled Zippo lighter cannot in any way be construed as dangerous," said Greg Booth, Zippo's president and chief executive officer. "They were also sympathetic to the fact that the exclusion of all lighters on commercial airlines caused a tremendous inconvenience to Zippo consumers."

The new rule appears as a footnote on updated regulations posted Monday on TSA's Web site, detailing items U.S. air travelers can and cannot carry.

"All lighters are prohibited as carryon items. Lighters without fuel are permitted in checked baggage, but lighters with fuel are prohibited," the footnote says.

TSA officials last month banned butane, electric and absorbed fuel "Zippo-type" lighters aboard all aircraft and in areas behind airport security gates. Lighters were already banned in checked baggage, but passengers previously had been allowed to have two lighters in their carryon luggage.

In a statement, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who helped Zippo lobby for the change, praised the decision, adding: "Many people purchase these signature lighters as souvenirs and gifts for friends and family while on vacation or traveling."

He noted new Zippo lighters are sold without fluid and the lighter itself is not considered hazardous material under the federal guidelines. The footnote on the TSA's Web site doesn't specify the lighter has to be "new."

A TSA spokesman in Washington contacted after regular business hours Monday said he couldn't clarify the matter because he wasn't aware the new regulations had been posted.

"All I can say is we are studying the issue," he said.