[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': US9 C" i" C) a1 O1 O) {( q4 i; n
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.( b; E% [' `$ v7 A. I" U

! B# m' h9 ~. YThe 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." ^* W$ f0 x& b2 g8 P, _- T9 n+ P# C
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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.人在德国 社区" j) ~+ W4 I" F/ C
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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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.( |+ w& b5 t$ w4 ~9 k* q
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.人在德国 社区, A9 v  }2 O; n9 Y
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.# U: T+ y, Q2 W5 B" p5 C

+ s) g" }6 H9 V) ^5 W3 A" H+ U"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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* Z, F8 m4 e6 E  DThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.3 _% |+ q% i. u+ T8 {) O
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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.