[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。
; E4 m  z1 @* X2 B( O- z 2 k$ K( w, C; Q9 `2 |9 z3 v% h
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
9 Y9 S' y7 d: o# b; V: s* nUS 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.. ]7 d* Q) d) |! [) H
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de' @8 P+ `; ]- n( w' J
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.8 K4 m" {) M3 U$ B
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de' _' ?, Y3 e0 z0 r' s1 u
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.
! a+ o/ g1 H, e3 r. H
$ @: b; }3 P# ~9 W4 V* iUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
7 T+ ~. x! H/ E9 F# N! k5 _: _% g3 W% c
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.
$ J: o2 a5 T' f5 |1 ]. f: ?4 i2 A人在德国 社区Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
' @7 y1 ^7 H# D
( [$ i& A3 z; Y' A3 u+ [人在德国 社区"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
: p% w* _- j- M% v7 W
) l3 p4 g; X, W! P) D4 E"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."; ]0 ]7 f" ?' m3 \2 c; D$ `. F
; a' s; O% b# b& g' k1 x
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
( `( J# b- W6 p& M9 e4 [0 }: E, y, B8 J  v6 G' i
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.