[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
0 y5 p3 J3 {( 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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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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' r4 J1 U, O9 P$ }. E人在德国 社区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.* v. e* w% `0 i# u) W# u

7 I$ d: W2 U, v; ~$ lUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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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.
' e' U. R* ~" l7 ars238848.rs.hosteurope.deMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.# q; }- m: I' |: a

8 h/ t  X$ h: `! |% m"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.人在德国 社区3 e& B/ K% q' C. M7 C
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."3 l! d6 C3 R* P! P

8 L' g- g6 c5 {7 r8 [5 BThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.' G  b, C$ ?, J$ q) T* ^# y

8 n4 m" m6 j. M. z) `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.