[Federal Register: July 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 141)]
[Rules
and Regulations]
[Page 40262-40263]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24jy07-18]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
49 CFR Part 1540
RIN 1652-ZA13
Prohibited Items; New Enforcement Policy Regarding Lighters
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.
ACTION: Notice of enforcement policy.
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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is providing
notice that, in accordance with section 530 of Public Law 109-295, TSA
will not enforce the prohibition on bringing lighters onboard
commercial aircraft. The effect of the new enforcement policy will be
to allow passengers to carry a lighter onboard commercial aircraft.
This action is being taken to enable Transportation Security Officers
(TSOs) to concentrate on more effectively confronting the threat of
concealed explosives and improvised explosive devices being brought
into the cabin of an aircraft.
DATES: Effective August 4, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Donovan, Office of Security
Operations, TSA-29, Transportation Security Administration, 601 South
12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202-4220; telephone (571) 227-3230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
(1) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html
; or
(2) Visiting TSA's Security Regulations Web page at http://
www.tsa.gov
and accessing the link for ``Research Center'' at the top
of the page.
In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Statutory and Regulatory Background
TSA is responsible for security in all modes of transportation,
including aviation. See 49 U.S.C. 114(d). TSA restricts what passengers
may carry into the sterile areas of airports and into the cabins of air
carrier aircraft. Under TSA's regulation for acceptance and screening
of individuals and accessible property, 49 CFR 1540.111, an individual
(other than a law enforcement or other authorized individual) may not
have a weapon, explosive, or incendiary, on or about the individual's
person or accessible property--
When performance has begun of the inspection of the
individual's person or accessible property before entering a sterile
area, or before boarding an aircraft for which screening is conducted
under Sec. 1544.201 or Sec. 1546.201;
When the individual is entering or in a sterile area; or
When the individual is attempting to board or onboard an
aircraft for which screening is conducted under Sec. 1544.201 or Sec.
1546.201.
On March 1, 2005 (70 FR 9877), TSA announced, via a notice in the
Federal Register, a prohibition on passengers' ability to bring
lighters onboard the cabin of an aircraft consistent with sec. 4025 of
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA)
(Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3710, Dec. 13, 2004), which required TSA to
add butane lighters to the prohibited items list and to make any other
modifications that TSA deemed appropriate. Specifically, TSA prohibited
passengers from carrying any type of lighter on their person or in
accessible property in airport sterile areas or on board an aircraft
for which screening is conducted.
Through this notice, TSA is changing its enforcement policy with
respect to lighters. Under the new policy, TSA will no longer enforce
the prohibition on lighters. The effect of this change in policy is to
allow passengers to carry a lighter through a passenger screening
checkpoint and into the cabin of an
[[Page 40263]]
aircraft. Micro-torches and gas torches will continue to be prohibited.
New Enforcement Policy Regarding Lighters
In sec. 530 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
Act, 2007 (Pub. L. 109-295, 120 Stat. 1355, Oct. 4, 2006), Congress
provided TSA with the authority to refrain from enforcing the statutory
butane lighter ban, if the Assistant Secretary determines that butane
lighters are not a significant threat to civil aviation security. If
the Assistant Secretary determines that butane lighters are not a
significant threat, the Assistant Secretary must notify the
Appropriations Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives 15
days in advance of the determination and include a report on whether
the effectiveness of screening operations is enhanced by suspending
enforcement of the prohibition.
In accordance with this authority granted by Congress, TSA has
determined, based on intelligence-driven threat assessments, that the
carriage of butane and other types of lighters by passengers on board
commercial aircraft does not pose a significant threat to civil
aviation security. TSA has further determined that aviation security is
better served if TSOs focus their efforts on detecting improvised
explosive devices, firearms, and other deadly devices rather than
searching for butane and other types of lighters. The search for
lighters at screening checkpoints is a time consuming process that
ultimately distracts TSOs from efforts to detect the type of deadly
weapons likely to be used by terrorists and which could be used to
inflict catastrophic damage to an aircraft and loss of lives.
Since TSA prohibited lighters on March 1, 2005, TSA continues to
intercept more than 22,000 lighters each day at screening checkpoints
across the country. Lighters represent approximately 85 percent of
prohibited items discovered by TSA and abandoned by passengers at
screening checkpoints. The number of lighters discovered at checkpoints
and the time and effort dedicated to positively identifying them is
clearly disproportionate to any threat they may pose.
Results from field surveys indicate that the greater the numbers of
items TSOs are required to identify and evaluate, the more difficult it
is to detect any one item. Accordingly, TSA has determined that
aviation security is better served if TSOs are focused on detecting
improvised explosive devices, firearms, and other deadly devices
instead of employing resources in the search for lesser threats, such
as lighters. Shifting attention from lower security risks to address
markedly higher security risks is fundamental to a risk-based approach.
TSA believes the effectiveness of screening operations will be enhanced
if the time and resources devoted to detecting, collecting, and
disposing of lighters is shifted to the search for higher threat items.
Freeing TSOs from searching for lighters will not only enable them to
focus on finding explosives, it will also enhance their ability to use
behavior recognition, conduct random screening procedures, and deploy
other measures that increase complexity in the security system and make
its security protocols less transparent and predictable to potential
terrorists.
It is noteworthy that the United States is currently the only
country that bans lighters. Permitting passengers to carry lighters
will align the United States with the international security standards
on lighters. This will serve as another step in our efforts to
harmonize security measures with international partners. Further, this
change will better harmonize TSA's regulations with current Department
of Transportation (DOT) regulations regarding the carriage of hazardous
materials on board aircraft. Under the DOT regulations (49 CFR 175.10),
a passenger may carry one lighter for the individual's use on his or
her person or in carry-on baggage.
Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on July 19, 2007.
Kip Hawley,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 07-3630 Filed 7-20-07; 1:37 pm]
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