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。( [: y2 g. A3 b( }
! V% k3 I- }. A5 k0 d8 UCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US5 |/ r- ~( ]# m1 R) o
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. 0 {/ \1 s$ i3 a4 \8 V' v) g# X1 q, L: ]4 U) i3 _. W
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. * ^+ H, x" J. U* f 6 w4 G/ E T8 P3 l \7 ~8 pReid, 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." `+ o/ v7 W/ R, f
+ r J5 t$ {1 L4 s2 s IUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights. , v) k5 s- ? H, f3 Q! M/ w5 [# P+ M9 I
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. 4 i( {5 ?/ u: _- B/ ?- {' xMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.) O W1 w3 [1 A
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. * e$ {( C) d3 I* \: l . `7 V3 n0 W- ^7 N: V' ?7 c"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."$ ^* z4 C/ k1 e7 N0 G0 H
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters. 4 N/ l8 o- A- Y1 f+ x8 e. s 6 j4 H( |4 E. ^- BThe 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.
