[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。& s( x" P# ]  P" ^6 B9 y* x5 Q1 x; {
人在德国 社区+ Q, T4 }+ m. F8 Z9 ~% J% A, I6 A
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US$ D' N5 E7 W! _: G  o
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.
/ S& c4 K" x! v( S/ {+ i5 l/ W
8 g! F9 F2 Y' ~4 cThe 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2 q' V# w; D2 w: k9 p! x
csuchen.de; R& |2 M1 l7 A) L) g7 R6 t8 w2 @
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* Y' s- M1 u8 d
. @0 ?) U6 F  z4 A7 U
US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
+ k8 x" l+ m: F3 i# C- Z( P0 K( X' J
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.
% c. ]1 |0 T! i# B( {Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.
) ?6 J7 N+ z0 |" T5 p+ K/ Y( ^# P! y! I" c! _
"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
$ T/ B1 W' A$ [$ A! f
. |/ s: j7 T0 }$ D- c; Z! _"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
8 l) m( O5 x5 {: Q" W4 R7 T4 ~4 A; W9 J7 j2 m0 Z9 e- @9 f. `; r# b
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
1 A$ K( a, \0 e" y* v: v( {/ q
, ]% W! H! A" [# {0 Y5 S人在德国 社区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.