[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。! d' i- Q9 `% P6 M! K
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US5.35.249.649 H$ y/ G/ J! t2 @: s: T2 }0 d
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 t* w4 u, `6 S; h

. i: o1 k3 R3 gThe 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.
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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.
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
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6 j( M& c$ d5 s' M6 D0 A8 F5.35.249.64US 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./ t. [5 f9 K& a/ I* X/ z
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.7 E3 L3 Q4 ^* 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.9 M! d. M3 `7 R' d+ |9 I. r
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."人在德国 社区2 m- ^. W2 _5 `5 I8 K6 }9 p. `4 T
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
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* N* S6 b/ F9 W& ]' FThe 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.