[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。
7 }5 L4 M9 z) d$ b. L/ n! l " \% g3 h' Q% q# F3 a9 O
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US人在德国 社区8 ~+ f. P7 N) t, j8 L
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., R# X7 t0 r1 Y/ A2 c- h3 z
( c& [3 c/ W$ t$ H9 h
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4 m& ?* M% N& U/ d$ H
( y1 R# M% X, L
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.www.csuchen.de9 x1 l: s5 Y8 x/ w* y0 b5 x

) }$ `* p8 M8 J0 k, ?8 \1 N  Z; tUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.  n1 W! d5 P( |

( _( E! |% z0 h( K6 j8 U! i人在德国 社区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.8 C! q# W" F, Q. B/ t
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts.. F0 \& `* g# r% z
* @, J- X, P+ d# W* m
"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.
% Q! K' C3 a- ]( b( x1 X- k% z
# l% R  d8 T8 P  x3 f# V"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."
* z% ?+ A6 g( Y/ x7 }2 Q5 n" Y7 }1 ]1 L0 n4 B' }2 l
The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.
! _/ {% ]+ @1 v0 n: @0 s, z& o
- G' u- {, Y, j* g; [9 eThe 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.