[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。( Y" V6 @! I- N

$ @7 }- ?" L3 E) C5 J% nCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US( P# Y( W, W4 T& T$ W3 \
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.# |. n. b  {: K" Y. a! {

2 w: {, w) a! t  KThe 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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8 G% o2 c0 k4 ~rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deReid, 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.& |8 k5 f* f0 ?7 `1 U
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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8 L! \  ]2 z7 ?7 AUS 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.人在德国 社区6 \) R5 `# m# n# f
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.0 m5 o8 L  s* W3 K. u. I

4 Y5 p3 I% S) p/ ]. @( @) U6 F4 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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" H' i0 {$ B$ |" B% k1 W' s"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."8 O7 M" I( g* ~7 ^+ P

. i; B/ V( }+ s5 L+ gThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.' R4 f* W7 x, B$ O, z' V) V' _
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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.