[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
# z* w& i/ j/ g1 ^% M$ TUS 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.! Q/ j0 b! _# ]3 @% p  X5 J/ u
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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.* c. U$ v5 s8 v: {

- z% U: O6 |* T2 F6 uReid, 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.- c) m1 e" Y: ?5 u
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights." t$ e+ F) J/ s* q1 T- W
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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.
1 R+ ?. ^2 J4 |2 {: x! ^8 A9 ]Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.( G# C* Q: j/ `: V5 y( i& P
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
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* F+ U$ K$ Q' Y3 ~( P9 _"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."4 Q! H! m3 R* \6 q( ~5 ^

0 I$ {7 R$ v2 I6 L/ b* M人在德国 社区The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de& }$ ?5 {6 A  D

: ^5 |6 u- K8 w( z/ H! X, R( |& ZThe 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.