[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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4 {8 {; u+ R! ^+ V! @; M( ~/ @1 oCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US* l6 M4 P* [! B6 x2 H/ [* `
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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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.5 R$ A: D1 r- N8 o' |
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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.人在德国 社区  w: i- h2 w. O

5 R1 U" o6 H; C" N" i5 x/ vUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.7 n% M* p$ Z" m+ i

0 n+ W( ^; O5 t2 w; G' L6 jrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deUS 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.
) a( I  ^" @8 O+ l8 N$ sMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.; d3 ^8 O& i/ W2 l, r3 l+ z) A
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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0 v9 B3 w) u: \( |- T6 ~0 J1 ?5 d

: F2 R. w' X8 N+ m: d6 L人在德国 社区"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.% v6 `* K0 y7 g8 Z) R% _
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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.