[国际新闻] 美国撤除禁令8月起可带打火机上飞机

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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。人在德国 社区# J% M) B$ G8 a" O/ y

- m3 `% s7 Z4 ~Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US" n3 g% B) R. F2 a4 D6 o. Y
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.! R/ u, r. Z6 L: c9 ]7 @1 L

5 S+ Q/ F) @1 e9 f4 Y& ?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.
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7 U- @  ~+ \' VReid, 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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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de8 y$ I6 P! u( n( O9 j4 y

* K% P2 [7 p: ?/ e! Y  I: wUS 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.
# o# W+ N7 e- ~! Y$ @Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.人在德国 社区$ _* M& M7 i, A2 q' |
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.( p; `4 @% R0 a$ s$ ^: ], \

# u# L8 A- m1 _: Z6 K  Z( u) L"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."人在德国 社区: D8 E0 a% N/ T3 i# O

$ ~& I8 q% y( t人在德国 社区The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
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. [. n+ I; U& |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.