[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。# t; T3 Z- q6 q
rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de. {$ u1 `2 O# M& \* R$ U, p5 G
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': USrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de0 c  w- y% F; S3 M, @
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.
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' n$ G& U& `. Q+ J( h4 ^7 A( LThe 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.& k! A7 a. D( c6 R7 E' g
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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." b* F: V5 Y9 T/ o0 _

) {+ a; V' x' G  i; A- d1 HUS 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.
; T0 f7 B: R7 a; o人在德国 社区Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.  b* E. B5 t) [0 F* Q6 A

, ~9 |, b+ h* Q" @2 p"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.% N& l" ]2 ?% {4 U" V8 G

" ~  t$ y! T3 r: ^5 y4 E"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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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.