[国际新闻] 美国撤除禁令8月起可带打火机上飞机

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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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1 K5 x, M# M& b. p, ]Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US7 I: e- C/ |) U' U
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.人在德国 社区2 D+ q  R5 @$ 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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1 X  o6 A( @3 r: j4 v- M! l4 s0 n! s$ TReid, 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.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de8 n0 P) \( Z5 L; v, i; Y9 W0 N
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.6 v; n! ^; q- W: x

+ v* n% ~$ Y, w( ~5 C9 tUS 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.' \6 f0 y/ U% w) D
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
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. ~3 b4 k, C, A& H人在德国 社区"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."人在德国 社区% M' U5 e4 W, ]. ~* p; i7 B* n
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.人在德国 社区( F& P5 f$ t! B+ F/ y
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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.