[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': US2 u8 M* n/ M2 ?$ ^
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.
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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.
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7 O  ~& M2 M% E9 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.人在德国 社区+ p* t8 H0 R  a' ?3 h
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.7 [5 C9 F2 {. B" P1 ^& Y, n  \5 h
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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.
  E; ?: d9 y% c0 P8 G人在德国 社区Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.6 H6 l3 V5 B! I" A" W
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.人在德国 社区# \: z0 N9 ~$ ?% \, E% ^7 ~

! }4 Z; x* \# n3 _. X1 N, S: `: O"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."6 S2 p$ c1 Y! a5 M
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.5.35.249.64. P! h2 b* V# n: r0 h% F+ ~. A/ o' g

$ w6 ?3 l( I6 M$ X) D( P' gThe 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.