Can You Bring Fuel or Butane on a Plane? FAA and TSA Rules

Where these numbers come from

Fuel is one of the few categories with no workaround. The FAA says gasoline and other flammable fuels are forbidden in carry-on and checked baggage, and the ban covers containers and equipment that still hold fuel or fuel vapor. A can with a few drops left is treated as a can of fuel. Butane refills and lighter fluid fall in the same group.

Camp fuel follows the same pattern. All forms of camp stove fuel are prohibited, whether they come as a pressurized canister, a bottle of liquid or a solid tablet. The rule does not distinguish full from partly used. For the stove itself, which can fly when clean, see the camping stoves page.

Lighters are the narrow exception. One standard lighter that burns butane or has liquid fuel absorbed in a lining, such as a Zippo, can ride in your pocket or carry-on. It cannot go in checked luggage. Lighters that use liquid fuel without an absorbent lining are forbidden. Torch lighters with a blue or jet flame are banned in both bags, although a few special travel containers are discussed in FAA guidance for checked torch lighters. The lighters page walks through that in detail.

Butane also shows up in hair tools and kitchen torches. The FAA allows one gas-powered cordless curling iron in carry-on only, with a safety cover, and bans spare cartridges. A chef torch is treated as a torch lighter, which means no in either bag. Small compressed gas cylinders are generally banned unless empty, with a mechanical-limb exception. See the curling irons page.

Here is a practical tally. A traveler heading to a cabin packs a lighter, a spare butane refill for it, a can of camp fuel and a torch lighter for a grill. Only one item survives: the standard lighter, and it goes in the pocket or carry-on. The refill, fuel and torch are refused everywhere. Replacing all three at a hardware store near the destination is usually cheaper than fighting the rule.

What if you are caught with fuel? Expect the item to be confiscated at the checkpoint. In a checked bag it can trigger a bag search and delay. Federal hazmat rules carry civil penalties, so this is not worth testing. Mailing fuel also has its own carrier rules. Use the TSA item finder for any other item in doubt.

Sources

• FAA PackSafe fuels
• FAA PackSafe lighters
• FAA PackSafe small compressed gas cylinders
• eCFR 49 CFR 175.10 (hazmat exceptions for passengers)
• FAA lighters FAQ (PDF)
• TSA What Can I Bring (index; item pages blocked to automated fetch)

Figures checked on September 30, 2026.

This page is general information, not legal, insurance or travel-agent advice. Fees, rules and limits change, so confirm the figures with the official sources listed above before you book or travel.