[国际新闻] 美国撤除禁令8月起可带打火机上飞机

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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; Y: I) ?( p7 f) h8 s8 }! L5 oCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': USrs238848.rs.hosteurope.de  w  w7 u0 ^% x9 T5 K2 ^5 w
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.( y( S0 d, r/ {7 X* {

2 X6 Z/ C7 H$ GReid, 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.+ q$ v: J" y  Z! N+ V$ @" R
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights." E9 L8 ~3 f9 U4 S
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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.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de6 R# J3 J* d  p, _
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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"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. T0 C9 j8 Z# {- W4 I! P

7 |' U5 h: `# ^/ `"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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7 v8 \$ N! o! D! rThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.人在德国 社区7 m$ S! }/ a0 ^# O& h( V

. I: c$ m4 ?. }. drs238848.rs.hosteurope.deThe 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.