New TSA Guidelines – Lighters and Breast Milk Will be Allowed

The TSA is toning things down a notch beginning August 4, 2007 (my birthday 🙂 ) by allowing airline passengers to begin bringing lighters and breast milk in to our nation’s airports. “Torch” lighters, however, will remain banned items.

The TSA security officers currently confiscate 22,000 lighters every day from airport entrants across the country. Reversing the ban on lighters will let the offers focus more on finding explosives.

The Lighter Timeline Chart (directly from the TSA website) shows the Empire State Building versus five times number of lighters stacked-end-to-end per day. That’s a lot of lighters and I think it’s really funny there is a Lighter Timeline Chart at all.

In addition, the TSA is easing the restriction with carrying breast milk through security checkpoints. Mothers flying with, and now without, their child will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint. Ewww. I wouldn’t want to inspect some lady’s breast milk. But I’m glad they can take it on-board if needed.