[国际新闻] 美国撤除禁令8月起可带打火机上飞机

日月光

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。' y7 F  k) S$ o0 B# S
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': USrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de) N1 R2 E1 l% w" f
US 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.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de# J4 k4 M" n' B9 B4 B4 Z8 R

- x( g$ x/ Z8 VThe 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.
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% n5 G* a+ w# z7 |* bReid, 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.
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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US 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.
' Q- @2 [% k' [; bMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.9 Z4 {! h' U) l" F' Y

1 K: ~( i3 C- E& Y2 ["The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
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1 L1 U' a, m4 U"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."5 Y( v# `! K) R+ h

8 e2 R' u/ x" w! B9 a! iThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.+ I% T: c1 u1 a* d! n$ x5 n! o

8 O) }6 v" Q" K% U0 O! ]The 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.