[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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. o( p7 u; [- w  }& t% D- a2 F: lCigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US
" r1 r: \0 e& ~* Q6 g% {7 HUS 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.人在德国 社区1 ^8 E+ j9 L& G8 P: d/ h% j

' ^& k6 b- }5 G# QReid, 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.( h0 V4 Y. g$ V

9 \& ]5 x# ~8 @' J# nUS 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.' N0 C- }: D; N6 [- _9 F
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.! r/ }9 t4 L. y1 A
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.: o/ @8 R0 K8 U, H. ?
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"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."; S2 G. T7 e+ y7 `5 \) E

0 z# y" {5 {4 C6 L! L" A( MThe policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.# F2 j! V' M! b" R
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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.