[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。  k- E" x, v, Y5 R1 ?8 u+ D- l
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US9 X% H4 X& I  q
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.人在德国 社区4 C3 I2 u. Z" h4 ~) i

4 u4 ~$ l8 M. G* N6 i2 Hrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deReid, 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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- A( H2 v. x+ T+ \rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deUS 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.
5 W  S- z( s/ Y1 }+ jrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.- s% V3 P6 R8 Q& y4 f/ q/ [5 ^1 ^
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.  ?1 `) V4 u) d2 u. P, v$ g1 _1 G

9 p9 Y' N/ K- `3 e# {5 N) i"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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% ?# o. J, B2 ~The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
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' p! T2 }- i1 y( z, g0 K$ J8 ~2 |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.