[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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de) y% G! k" m) K& E$ A$ A

- h) V& F$ h9 t- h# q. S0 @* ~Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
( J; z7 T6 ^. Y' `. ]# @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.
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4 _5 @' x7 ^& n. `* eThe 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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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.
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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; D+ e/ k; J! z6 eUS 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.
! `% ?+ Z$ i" Y9 {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.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de! m* Z" C! K. C+ `* d2 ?0 J- n5 _  }
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.人在德国 社区& p( a+ P: a% u8 _/ Q

, }; h& x& i5 f- w% I0 G"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de* Q- O% \# D- w

- ?' x- I" b, Z7 O人在德国 社区The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
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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.