[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': US
( S/ Q, F+ I) G5 @- kUS 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.9 W( I6 F0 o7 `! O$ W5 D8 U
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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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* X* P7 A- E1 m) A( u' x/ O8 V人在德国 社区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./ s! L. K( m) U) \! C' r

8 O, M7 P/ L! J2 m# G# hUS 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.1 v  G1 I/ `& X; ~* U1 u
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts." W7 @2 M) L: e3 S3 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.. Q' g, K$ l2 S& ]6 Z* `; b/ a6 e
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
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0 I0 }, G" t8 }+ V! z$ OThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.) C, d& R: j7 X, o# }  @

. ^! T  {7 e7 H1 h4 ~+ j# |( \' |. B2 nThe 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.