why air is poor conductor of electricity?

A substance acts as a conductor if it has free ions int which can help in the flow of current.Air does not have free ions .It has neutral and inert compounds these do not help in the movement ofelectrons.So electricity cannot flow through it and this is the reason we can use electrical appliances safely.Under ordinary conditions, air is a poor conductor of electricity, but under certain specific conditions, air could conduct anelectric current. For example, a gas lighter uses something called piezoelectricity to generate a nice spark that lights the stove. The voltage generated by the lighter is high enough to make the air conductive such that the electric current could flow across the spark gap.Air conductivity is the ability of air to conduct (pass) an electric current under the influence of anelectric field. In neutral gases such as air, electrical conductivity is very low. They act as a dielectric or insulator, up until the electric field reaches a breakdown value, stripping the electrons from the atoms thus forming a plasma. (Plasma is the state of matter where some of the electrons in a gas are stripped or "ionized" from their molecules or atoms.) This plasma allows the conduction of electricity, forming a spark, arc or lightning. In ordinary air below the breakdown field, the dominant source of electrical conduction is via mobile particles of water, which shuttle electric charge, forming a current. A plasma can be formed by high temperature, or by application of an electric field as noted above. Electrical conduction in a plasma is due to the motion of both the electrons and the positively-charged ions.