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。 # U3 |1 k% z- `0 e 2 q/ p4 H f" j- @Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US9 k% [: b2 ^: q8 M
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. 7 a& a3 k% i8 C 5 f$ I5 ]. ^2 ?* x* W$ U% q! {4 qThe 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+ C' ^. i3 p$ u7 i9 s 3 Y3 A+ e. T5 U8 b) |+ 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.2 \, x! w7 t( J/ z, w# j9 M
- B- k4 C4 f a' u8 u1 h4 K* wUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights. 4 r- H0 B3 O. ^) T5 F3 s ; e4 o9 p7 t/ F$ O1 a+ P$ mUS 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.* j/ R" z$ }" b
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.% A; r7 m: A9 k
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. & B2 H3 m& T z7 s& X . t! a% O) V- H H: f" {% \"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."7 m* z1 f' [* z( W
) S& G( C7 w, \The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.5 O; u6 s0 u8 X
7 R/ M6 k& d6 J" U8 }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.
