[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。5 v* x6 D; B$ u, B9 m* M: n

$ M7 R' L! B% L! v4 G2 d' l! W8 nCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US. p4 i, Q+ T, c# Y" z  V
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.  E) X( F4 N! {# |
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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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8 b* q/ V; v$ M" v% Mwww.csuchen.deReid, 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." x/ u& c( S# V; N; S* G

# \7 M4 ?$ ^, U. Y) ~4 U% K) Z; SUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.6 d8 b3 t9 a- w

9 h' S+ u8 o" M6 i: zUS 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.# z. a% {3 L( w5 v2 n
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.. L, E$ ]2 ~. K9 D7 C4 {
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.7 f) v& a" G: k1 k5 b7 d1 z. V

0 X  i$ b) v( L6 r" C. K4 Y"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."& c8 Z5 p5 `/ j6 v# H" b
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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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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.