[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。
( X% L' Q5 Z* [, @9 M  Y : [, r5 U; s7 d* v9 d% y! ?: }5 [0 n
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US* y+ V3 B2 i& \: k# o6 k* u3 K9 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.
5 X& K; G3 ^# S1 T) w  y" z2 l5.35.249.64/ F' L9 P& s- a$ u, A3 L
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.人在德国 社区6 v  G/ S2 Y/ s1 s4 ~
0 \3 O; A2 G9 q  b
Reid, 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.
8 d/ \; C8 f" p( {# O: F人在德国 社区. ?3 d- D9 S, D
US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
0 x" z3 U5 l( y0 S, v! n! W0 D
: s# m4 P5 R; u! {0 g5.35.249.64US 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.3 F$ m4 o% b( C) W/ E' c% F
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
+ B. i' O/ i- H( `5 b6 d: Z& C6 g6 Y: u! s" v" k
"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
% @# C" y3 e3 y: D, O3 i# Z4 Z2 g) D/ c" v
"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
0 h$ ^2 o4 ^4 H& V, G3 x( [5 T人在德国 社区( R, K8 I8 n/ k0 w- {4 b
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.人在德国 社区9 {6 U  n/ r! J3 H& d, u' ?
' l( `4 |3 L* h7 m$ V4 X
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.