[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。1 a0 k: I! i; O  r/ l
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US0 l4 _+ v9 Y; c5 T/ b5 G4 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.
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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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) H& F  A' {" F/ L5 I% I% uReid, 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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# d+ u% S: f; ]  W; TUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.% a4 l$ ]$ m3 ^* R
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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.
  J6 ?- ~4 q4 ~" d. b! tMr 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.* \" Q% O& l7 O; p! C

# r$ O2 ]- v+ t; d6 w" A"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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, [/ ]0 @2 g# J1 a" r7 vThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.- Z- A$ S3 G; v" m0 K3 x

; _% k9 j' X. y: S6 n# M- BThe 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.