[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。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de6 a6 o' T% |. ~3 ]9 ^

: I% T) H2 `1 g( oCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
% c8 e' Z" U" d+ Z5 k  g4 RUS 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.
+ v7 y: i9 J0 x8 n- J5 a) M
# ]  m4 T: N" \, c7 _  M$ {& a1 ?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; w: C* w. y1 Y  Q

) g, y; O, T/ m! W9 l: d# jReid, 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! V: d" a# s7 ?" v" }5 K! K+ z% {

5 L. {  U3 a4 OUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
: t1 u& `7 \6 C- K8 ~4 ~: Y7 `7 k1 V  f
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., K+ }, `4 M1 v6 |) h% K
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.* i9 F- o5 @- d/ N9 m: A

, k5 e6 E4 a, m"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
1 U- ]6 m: i5 {% j. g: w
  y- a, _1 H+ \; T"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de: O* N6 q6 h9 G- n
( \5 q& `4 Q. Q$ |8 k+ _- @3 G
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.( h4 k: i: u! P$ s" T2 R

3 x- S1 T. D$ j1 J( UThe 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.