[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。( s$ V. L3 T1 ]( N
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
' z4 j3 Y3 R( r' t- vUS 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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2 j) g/ M' b) @  o0 d5 }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.) k/ I8 n% t) b; R. O/ l" u9 C8 y
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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., x2 P$ V6 T& g# q4 S2 X6 t
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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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.人在德国 社区( a+ C; O5 ], b/ o
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.人在德国 社区) |9 y7 \& k: x  N3 I% W; W

0 s) G# T6 V+ f: e"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."人在德国 社区) a1 f- G* A; ]- _
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.+ d0 }3 c5 z# |9 o( x/ }

* b2 A  C) \8 q& M& rThe 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.