How do I get a torch lighter on the plane?

August 14, 2007 10:22 PM

How do I get my torch lighter on the the airplane?

As a result of poor reading comprehension, I was under the impression until just now that the repeal of the lighter ban on airplanes extended also to torch lighters. This turned out not to be true. Is there any way I can get it on the plane? Would it make it through in checked luggage, or will they locate and confiscate it?

posted by invitapriore to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

You need a TSA and DOT Approved Airline Torch Lighter Case.

As of August 4, 2007, the butane filled torch lighters are only allowed to be carried in checked luggage as long as they are in this TSA approved torch lighter carrying case.
posted by seymour.skinner at 11:06 PM on August 14, 2007

I have successfully carried torches inside my checked luggage plenty of times.

if your really paranoid you can buy a Colibri Tranzpack and pack your lighter in it.

I have had bags opened by the TSA that had lighters in them ( probably from the kitchen knives and Screenprinting supplies ) and they never took the lighters.
posted by petethered at 11:08 PM on August 14, 2007

Checked luggage. Drain all the fluid out of it, then then leave the valve open for a day or so, so that the last of the gas can evaporate out. If you have the original packaging, perhaps put it in that as if new.

The reason for the rule is the gas - lower cabin pressure makes the gas likely to leak into the hold, etc. An unused never-had-gas-in-it (or similar) device means that even if it gets pulled up in a search, someone with authority might apply their common sense and let it go. Chances are also excellent that common sense will never enter into the equation and you risk a fine.
posted by -harlequin- at 11:43 PM on August 14, 2007

(I've travelled with empty torches in checked without a problem, for whatever anecdotal value that has)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:45 PM on August 14, 2007

I always put bics in my carry-on luggage, even during the ban, and they were never discovered. I highly doubt anyone is going to find it in your check-in and confiscate it.
posted by sophist at 12:48 AM on August 15, 2007

I flew from France to DFW to SFO the day of the liquid explosives thing, having a lighter in my coat pocket (which went through the x-ray). It wasn't until SFO that I finally noticed all the TSA "absolutely no lighters" thing. Even though my PB&J sandwich and hummous got confiscated, they didn't touch the lighter.
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:13 AM on August 15, 2007

I have an Otter Zippo Case that I've been using lately, but have often just stuck my lighter in my checked bag itself and no one has ever given me grief over it. And that's even with finding the telltale stickers on my bags showing they've been searched.
posted by JaredSeth at 8:05 AM on August 15, 2007

I keep a Bic in my pocket and it never gets detected.
posted by GS1977 at 10:32 AM on August 15, 2007