[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。* c+ p' C+ Z' f, Q

' v1 Q0 D7 P, ?% z- S1 k: i/ Z! pCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US: t8 S! ?$ q8 g2 ^/ v' l' ?
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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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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5 P) s, ]: k/ A" a& F+ yReid, 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.人在德国 社区: H/ ], C& f0 t+ B7 N  O

9 J' w+ ^$ K5 J1 gUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights./ e3 s0 @" A' w, _/ a' A8 n
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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.$ g# v) P* x$ Q7 q
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
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! L) L7 Y% b- q9 h$ b- w3 `; P% W"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5 K  z  R2 |, Q
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."/ A) z+ L# e  _0 W$ H8 V# w& u8 E

6 s+ p- ~# x+ T, F$ dThe 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.