def remove_comments(lines, log):
    """
    Comment lines in Panair begin with an equal (=) sign.
    The file is easier to parse if we remove them.
    """
    lines2 = []
    for line in lines:
        line = line.rstrip().lower()
        if '=' in line:
            if line[0] != '=':
                log.debug('line[0] -> %s' % line[0])
                line = line.split('=')[0]
                lines2.append(line)
        else:
            lines2.append(line)
    return lines2
