[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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$ w1 O" U% {- W3 g4 _# Xrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
9 j/ ]9 z6 v0 O" E! p; o: xUS 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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; g5 M# F* o; a! o1 {# v5 X* w1 _% |人在德国 社区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.* q9 U6 `. z( ?& x
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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.: i% O% E! `: ?- [7 m8 |7 d

2 e: T% G) X# u4 t# I, M人在德国 社区US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.9 _8 Y  T* ~$ 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.( a! Q0 T/ R$ L( e
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.2 `" N' a2 h, C, l

3 v: R0 z$ F+ k: H7 \! G8 u"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."! P0 A& Y8 s. t: W8 E3 L0 U
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.( |7 K* f* W( p3 c8 I% m: c

, Z, K4 u& x1 U3 F: ?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.