February 15, 2005 | Lighter Security

According to a CNN story by Mike M. Ahlers, the Transportation Security Administration is delaying implementation of a new ban on butane lighters that was included in last year's intelligence reform bill at the behest of Senators Byron Dorgan and Ron Wyden.

Passengers still can carry butane lighters aboard commercial aircraft this week despite a law banning them that was scheduled to take effect Tuesday.

The Intelligence Reform Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in December, orders the Transportation Security Administration to ban butane lighters within 60 days of the legislation's enactment, which would have been February 15.

But the TSA on Monday said that the ban "is currently under review," declining all other comment.

Lawmakers voting to ban butane lighters cited the case of Richard Reid, a Briton who tried unsuccessfully to ignite a shoe bomb while on a flight from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida, in December 2001. The flight, with nearly 200 people aboard, was diverted to Boston, Massachusetts. Reid was sentenced to life in prison.

Members of Congress said that Reid's attempts to ignite the bomb may have been undetected if he had used an odorless lighter instead of a match.

Some ridiculed TSA rules that allow passengers to carry on two butane lighters and four books of matches. Torch-style lighters are prohibited.

The bill only explicitly bans butane lighters (BIC style lighters), though the article states that the TSA is also thinking about banning matches.

Currently you can take a Zippo or a bic or matches on board. And there's very little reason to try to stop that practice.

My earlier post on this inanity is here.

But what I love even more about this CNN article is that it quotes David Stempler of the Airline Passengers Association, talking about how his members feel about the possible ban.

"Most of our members thought that they [lighters] probably weren't allowed to begin with," said David Stempler of the Air Travelers Association.

"Basically we support the banning of lighters and matches. The hesitation has to do with the ability to detect [the items]. There may be a lot of inadvertent carriage of these items. How's the enforcement going to be managed?"

He added, "We'd like it to go into effect sooner rather than later. The government has its processes. We just don't want them to drag their feet too long."

Stempler gets quoted a lot. But I've never heard of anyone who has joined his organization. Mostly it seems his organization is about selling membership in a traveler discount program run by Cendant, one of the four big airline reservation companies. In fact, when privacy activist Bill Scannell posted the website registration information about Stempler's association, it turns out that Cendant owned and maintained his website.

Stempler has since changed the registration information, but I've seen no evidence that Stempler actually represents the flying public (and 20 minutes on the FlyerTalk forums would make any sane person question how any one organization could actually try to do that).

Yet journalists continue to quote Stempler as if he represented the public, and the TSA still includes him as a representative of the public on their air safety advisory board.

Posted by Ryan Singel at February 15, 2005 10:42 AM

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