Can I Bring an S.T. Dupont Lighter on a Plane? TSA, EU and UK Rules

Yes, in most cases. You can take one S.T. Dupont lighter with a soft flame, such as a Ligne 1, Ligne 2 or Gatsby, on a flight, as long as you keep it on you in the cabin. What you cannot do is pack it with gas in your checked suitcase, bring gas refills, or fly with one of the jet or torch models.

The details differ a little between the United States and Europe, and the security officer at the checkpoint always has the final word. Below are the rules as the official bodies publish them, and how we travel with lighters ourselves.

The rules at a glance

Airlines may set stricter rules than these, so check yours before you fly, especially on long trips with connections.

Is your S.T. Dupont a soft flame or a jet lighter?

Almost every vintage S.T. Dupont is a soft flame lighter: a yellow flame, lit by a flint. That includes the Ligne 1, Ligne 2, Gatsby, Line D, Soubreny and Urban. These count as ordinary lighters for air travel.

Since 2000 S.T. Dupont has also made jet lighters with a blue, wind resistant flame and piezo ignition: the Maxijet, Minijet, Ultrajet, Slim 7, Ligne 2 Torch, Liberté, X.Tend and the Défi Extrême and XXtrême. Rules call these torch, jet, blue flame or cigar lighters, and they are banned on almost every flight. A simple test: the jet models take the black or the tall red Défi refill, as our S.T. Dupont gas refill guide shows. Not sure which model you own? Our guide to every S.T. Dupont model helps you place it.

One model needs extra care: the Le Grand S.T. Dupont has two functions. Flick the roller and it burns a soft flame, push the roller up and it switches to a blue torch. Because it can work as a torch lighter, treat it as one when you fly: it is not allowed on board or in your checked bag.

Flying in or from the United States

• One lighter in the cabin. The FAA allows one butane lighter per passenger, in your carry on bag or on you.
• Gate checked bag? If your cabin bag is taken at the gate or at the aircraft, take the lighter out first and keep it with you.
• No torch lighters. The FAA and TSA ban them from the cabin and from checked bags.
• Checked bags only empty. The TSA allows lighters without fuel in checked bags. Filled lighters are only allowed there in a DOT approved travel case, up to two per passenger, and the FAA notes that these permits apply to travel within the United States.

As the TSA puts it, the final decision rests with the officer at the checkpoint.

Flying in Europe, the UK and elsewhere

Outside the US, airlines follow the dangerous goods rules of IATA and ICAO. They allow one small cigarette lighter per passenger, for your own use, carried on your person: in a jacket or trousers, not in your cabin bag and never in your checked suitcase. Blue flame and cigar lighters are not allowed at all.

• United Kingdom: one lighter, which you put in a resealable plastic bag (like the bag for liquids) at security and keep on you for the whole flight. It may not go in your hold luggage, or back in your hand luggage after screening.
• Switzerland and the EU: the Swiss aviation authority FOCA spells it out: carried on the person, not in the cabin bag, forbidden in checked baggage. EU airports apply the same IATA rules: Amsterdam Schiphol, for example, allows a small lighter only when it is worn on the person.
• Australia: one lighter per passenger, on your person only.

Can I take more than one lighter?

With gas in them, no: the limit is one per passenger almost everywhere, and a torch lighter may not fly at all. The rules are about the fuel, though. The FAA sets no limit on empty lighters and advises packing them in your checked bag with a note saying they contain no fuel. Outside the US, rules for empty lighters are less clearly written and some officers treat any lighter as a lighter.

How we travel with several lighters

What follows is our own experience, not a rule. We have flown with lighters within Europe and beyond: to and from the United States, out of Switzerland, and through airports such as Dublin, Milan, Frankfurt and Amsterdam Schiphol. When we travel with several lighters, we make sure none of them is a working lighter any more:

1. Empty them completely. We let all the gas out of every lighter. How to do that is in our gas refill guide; do it outdoors, away from any flame.
2. Take out the flints. Without a flint nothing can spark, so none of the lighters can ignite.
3. Take them apart. The lighters travel in parts. With Cartier lighters we even take out the gas tank.
4. Pack each one separately. Every lighter is packed on its own, and then they all go together in one package.
5. Add a note. On the package we leave a note saying that everything has been emptied and checked, and that none of the lighters works.
6. No torch lighters. We never fly with a torch lighter.

If security asks, you can show the officer how the lighter is meant to work, and that it is empty and cannot work right now. Done this way, we have carried more than twelve lighters in a carry on without problems. Still, the officer decides, so allow extra time.

Gas refills: leave them at home

Butane refills and lighter fluid are forbidden everywhere: in your hand luggage, in your checked bag and on your person. The FAA adds that they may not be sent by post either. Buy a refill at your destination; tobacconists and S.T. Dupont boutiques sell them. Check the colour your lighter needs before you go, and if the flame is wrong after the first refill abroad, our S.T. Dupont maintenance guide explains how to set it.

How to carry your lighter through security

1. Keep it on you. In a jacket or trousers, not in a bag, unless you fly from the US, where a cabin bag is fine too.
2. Protect it. A soft pouch keeps lacquer and plating free from scratches in the tray.
3. Put it out when asked. In the UK it goes in the clear plastic bag; elsewhere put it in the tray if the officer asks.
4. Explain if needed. Say it is a refillable butane lighter with a soft flame, and show the flint wheel if they doubt it.

If security takes your lighter

Even with everything right, an officer can refuse a lighter. Stay polite and ask which rule applies: it helps for the next trip. Then ask about the options. Some airports can post confiscated items to you or let you take them back to your car or to someone seeing you off; if you return through the same airport, ask whether it can be kept for you. Do not count on it, though. If you love the lighter, the safest choice is to leave it at home or carry it empty.

Looking for a lighter that travels well? A vintage Ligne 2 is slim, light and burns a soft flame.