[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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' a& T+ \; L- SCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
, |% D- H4 G4 u  G6 |4 F8 eUS 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.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de. b% O" X" n" F; U7 M. g

$ J) L1 H9 L3 h8 [8 A# nThe 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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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.
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, T; d# Y6 n4 A0 E: i6 T& nUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.  n1 w  R( [5 q7 S% e  j

) v; P# w$ _! X4 n7 \- N- FUS 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' v3 Q7 |
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de- p- k( @5 n! Y* b: y: x4 c

. @# U- H3 J' T9 p; t"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
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3 }/ X1 K" B6 o+ l: J: l* W"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de8 p$ @1 t8 E( n$ U
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
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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.