US customs is passing me off right now

[Blewbyou]

So I'm sitting in the Toronto air port after passing through customs just streaming right now. I was carrying my corona old boy lighter in my jacket pocket and customs confiscated it. The briar and gold one. I was told to carry it not check it. Of coarse we had already passed the luggage check line so we couldn't check it in our luggage.

Pissed doesn't begin to describe what I'm feeling because if it had of been a nice they would have let it through. To top it off they let my pipe tamper/scraper knife through in our carry on. I would have been happier to leave the tamper and keep the expensive old boy.

 

[TheTrunkDr]

It's not a customs issue, it's a security one and it wouldn't have been accepted in your checked baggage either (http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/security.html). The US recently relaxed its position on these sorts of the lighters but Canada has not.

I go by a simple rule when flying, even domestically, don't bring anything that you aren't willing to part with. Carry on or checked it doesn't matter if customs or security want to be dicks you don't have much recourse.

 

[T Murphy]

I know the feeling. Security in Naples, Florida did the same thing last week. Same lighter it was packed in my carry on but they allowed me to go back out of security and find someone to mail it home for me.

 

[the_edski]

Tough break, sorry for the loss and aggravation. The times we live in, right?

 

[syngent]

Sucks Blew, it would be nice had they have let you do something with it, i probably would have asked to smash it into pieces to ensure no one was taking a free item of mine home with them

I dont think ill be bringing any nice toys to the airports anymore, there are a lot of things like this happen to people

 

[the_edski]

Viking funeral, i like it.

Sucks Blew, it would be nice had they have let you do something with it, i probably would have asked to smash it into pieces to ensure no one was taking a free item of mine home with them

I dont think ill be bringing any nice toys to the airports anymore, there are a lot of things like this happen to people

 

[Blewbyou]

I could have gone back out and found a place to ship it back home but I would have had to back through the customs line again and it was a long wait the first time through. I didn't want to be late for the plane. Or I could have gone back out and check our carry on bag with the lighter in it but it had all our stuff in it we needed to board the plane plus our books and whatnot for the flight.

 

[Argonaut]

Sorry to hear about your lighter Blew.

 

[KarlMaldensNose]

I hear ya, brother. Years ago I lost a Zippo that very same way. Wait a minute... didn't you just get back from a tropical cruise vacation?

 

[73mountaineer]

Lighters


As of August 4, 2007, in an effort to concentrate resources on detecting explosive threats, TSA will no longer ban common lighters in carry-on luggage. Torch lighters remain banned in carry-ons.


Lifting the lighter ban is consistent with TSA's risk-based approach to aviation security. First and foremost, lighters no longer pose a significant threat. Freeing security officers up from fishing for 22,000 lighters every day (the current number surrendered daily across the country) enables them to focus more on finding explosives, using behavior recognition, conducting random screening procedures and other measures that increase complexity in the system, deterring terrorists. The U.S. is the only country in the world to ban lighters – all other nations, including Israel and the U.K., do not.

Just curious on what grounds they confiscated it, or did they not say? Lighters aren't on the no fly item list, only torch lighters.

 

[SweetOne69]

Just curious on what grounds they confiscated it, or did they not say? Lighters aren't on the no fly item list, only torch lighters.

He was in Canada and they only permit bic style lighters in carryon. They probably didn't like the fact that the old boy remains lit without holding down an ignition button.

 

[73mountaineer]

He was in Canada and they only permit bic style lighters in carryon. They probably didn't like the fact that the old boy remains lit without holding down an ignition button.

True, he stated that he was in Toronto, but the thread title specifically states that it was US officials that took it, hence the confusion. Either he was leaving the US, bound for Toronto when it happened & it was US TSA or it wasn't. I wouldn't think US Customs would care about his lighter one way or the other, as they aren't charged with enforcing TSA regs. Maybe the OP can clarify it for us?

 

[SweetOne69]

True, he stated that he was in Toronto, but the thread title specifically states that it was US officials that took it, hence the confusion. Either he was leaving the US, bound for Toronto when it happened & it was US TSA or it wasn't. I wouldn't think US Customs would care about his lighter one way or the other, as they aren't charged with enforcing TSA regs. Maybe the OP can clarify it for us?

True it is confusing. I admit that I haven't done much international travel and I've only driven to/from Canada, but in my experience with air travel you go through security before you board the plane and customs and immigration when you deplane at your destination.

 

[TheTrunkDr]

True it is confusing. I admit that I haven't done much international travel and I've only driven to/from Canada, but in my experience with air travel you go through security before you board the plane and customs and immigration when you deplane at your destination.

This is typically the case but not so when flying from Canada to the US. There are US customs agents at Canadian airports so you go through US customs before boarding the plane. Customs wouldn't care much about a lighter (unless it was made from some prohibited material or something) but Canadian security does. The OP must be mistaken and it was the CATSA that confiscated his lighter.

 

[SweetOne69]

This is typically the case but not so when flying from Canada to the US. There are US customs agents at Canadian airports so you go through US customs before boarding the plane. Customs wouldn't care much about a lighter (unless it was made from some prohibited material or something) but Canadian security does. The OP must be mistaken and it was the CATSA that confiscated his lighter.

Thanks for the clarification. The only international flight I have been on was to/from Ireland. And that was unusual as well as when we came back from Ireland we went through U.S. Immigration at the Dublin airport and went through customs when we landed in the U.S.

 

[73mountaineer]

This is typically the case but not so when flying from Canada to the US. There are US customs agents at Canadian airports so you go through US customs before boarding the plane. Customs wouldn't care much about a lighter (unless it was made from some prohibited material or something) but Canadian security does. The OP must be mistaken and it was the CATSA that confiscated his lighter.

Well that's even stranger, I didn't know that - thanks!