[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。
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US4 @! G* M' B  S0 x. i: ]( l8 J1 V
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.+ ~! \- J: k% i! {4 x# x% t
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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.
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* e: d3 V# J5 L& _1 I" L* b/ ^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.人在德国 社区& y" J) c5 @& _/ m& o

: B. D  @8 V0 E+ y9 n4 `人在德国 社区US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.) i# `( u! _' z8 B( f' _* I# V

5 ~- h0 W9 c* K$ ?8 R- X) q3 YUS 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.
# r2 g1 E- _$ W1 o; qrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.6 |; S3 @; Y6 z" T  \
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.' o7 e5 q5 _# V5 x0 g0 A1 F& `
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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  O7 j- r5 i+ x/ g5 TThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.' g. A( }! s4 r8 O

& l. e! ^/ M. V* C; `4 W' l0 n* t人在德国 社区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.