[国际新闻] 美国撤除禁令8月起可带打火机上飞机

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。
2 r  E$ z/ n6 U + f0 L) f* y" I* _$ W
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US1 E  c6 M0 m4 w  X
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.www.csuchen.de4 M1 |3 B& X; k0 \
) |8 B' E3 ^- ?; w
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# V  h, B/ O6 k& l$ G- n
  m& J( l/ e7 K# x
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.
/ z) m$ m8 k6 ?
3 L. C. Q3 x2 E! z! ]  O4 I人在德国 社区US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.
, o% C  v$ _* e# @8 W
, a; u! G7 Z7 jUS 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.
" M1 F1 ^9 Y9 I, T% \: b. F7 nMr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.* ^4 k- [6 H" E: B

+ U" K# j6 |# [) [/ dwww.csuchen.de"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.www.csuchen.de! q9 G6 O; [, Z$ m3 \
# Z! W( H( x% j  ^
"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."$ Y" y1 X7 k. E8 E2 w: \
1 P# H- q* m  ^: {  E
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
. o' Y* c: Z! q. N" ^人在德国 社区2 G) r2 c* c& J  Z# b; u, r$ v
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.