[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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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
' X# a. B' |" u# j$ x, Srs238848.rs.hosteurope.deUS 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.* e3 q3 t2 _5 |- m+ K1 l
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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.0 L  O7 R4 u% [: a1 w7 }( |1 ~
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights., N7 S3 x: }* p7 ^5 h

0 u9 L+ o3 ~$ c5 oUS 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.
3 z# T& a$ {2 z* I- fMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.- v0 B1 h: P1 M7 H( Z0 `$ }6 l
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de7 P" G" ?1 _* [( x* r/ g6 C8 V4 T5 H

0 n) W) r4 `9 i* b3 S"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."& T1 F3 h; n% C0 q) y# C
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.- G" b5 Y7 o( N. }. P5 `  h3 J- e

) Q5 R* S- w& ~6 v6 b& tThe 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.