[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。8 Q/ t) b9 G/ _! q0 k2 m4 u  |# F; U

8 b/ r8 _% S0 _/ q$ q( R. I& o- QCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US" B% g, H3 X! ^
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.* v' J1 ~' q5 A% X: l
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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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$ \* K- X0 o! m6 ]/ RReid, 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.
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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.
$ a- Y; B. N2 d: o% LMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said., l  Q$ m; R4 E3 i: Y, s) H
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."% S& F( w1 `3 o1 K% O: L

( j% h$ K5 W+ R( QThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.' e0 n( |3 r8 H6 C$ V2 p
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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.