美国政府决定从8月4日开始，停止施行已经两年，禁止乘客带普通打火机上飞机的政策。美国运输部认为，在乘客登机前搜索他们身上是否携带打火机，根本是浪费时间。 2001年当鞋子炸弹客芮德意图在从巴黎飞往迈阿密的班机上，用火柴引燃藏在鞋子里的炸弹後，美国政府在国会的坚持之下，终於宣布了禁带打火机上机的命令。5 F3 A) t _4 p5 a
! x5 S4 v i( b: UCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US + T' F5 V% o, |1 F0 \8 jUS authorities will no longer enforce a two-year-old ban against taking cigarette lighters on planes because searching passengers wasted time and did not improve aviation security, the New York Times reports.6 x8 _2 i) t# I0 a5 k
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The ban on lighters was ordered by US lawmakers after a passenger, Richard Reid, tried to ignite a bomb in his shoe in 2001 on a flight from Paris to Miami.! U9 \5 T8 _# m* M
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Reid, known as the "shoe bomber", had used matches to try to ignite explosives concealed in his shoe and is currently serving a life sentence for trying to blow up the transatlantic flight.7 e$ h2 S* N* X3 q" }
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.! T8 b* r4 M% N3 ]
2 M+ v9 |: V7 z/ PUS Transport Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley says the ban on lighters did not significantly enhance security because small batteries could be used to detonate a bomb.2 k/ B2 j D6 |
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.4 `' D: f: X$ I5 U" t& I
. e+ ^5 N/ n. @# t6 t3 m i"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. & t* R* z% z, A" G3 _2 f& } + y; {% M; _# P1 k"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that." , C7 ~/ @8 b6 ~7 }$ U# L( Z+ o, C2 h3 N8 @8 h" z6 k$ O
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters. 7 S5 c; i0 f W& J" [/ Z; ~0 K 0 R8 b& D0 g& Q, HThe New York Times says some 22,000 lighters a day are collected by security officers at airports across the United States and disposing of the confiscated lighters has cost about $US4 million a year.
