经济学人:航空安全 是否禁用电子设备?(上)

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　　Airline Security: Carry On Working 航空安全：继续努力

　　Airlines seem to have dodged¹ a wider ban on electronic devices. 航空公司涉嫌对电子设备禁令不作为。

　　The fear that business travellers on transatlantic flights might have to stop working on spreadsheets and read a good book instead had been palpable. 现在有一种担忧甚嚣尘上：商务旅客在跨大西洋的航班上恐怕有可能只能读书而不能使用笔记本电脑办公了。

　　In recent weeks, agents at America's Department of Homeland Security had been hinting to the media that a ban on large electronic devices in the cabins of flights between Europe and America was likely. 最近几个星期，美国国土安全部的工作人员一直暗示媒体说，很有可能会禁止在往返欧洲和美国的航班上使用大型电子设备。

　　After a meeting on May 17th in Brussels, between American and EU officials, however, reports suggest that threat has been averted². 不过，5月17日布鲁塞尔的美国和欧盟官员会议之后，会议报告中显示，为该信息担忧的人们可以松一口气了。

　　Airlines will be rejoicing if so. 特别是航空公司。

　　America had been expected to announce that all electronic gadgets³ larger than a smartphone, such as tablets and laptops, would henceforth have to be put in hold luggage. 早前就有人预计美国会宣布，今后所有比智能手机大的电子产品，如平板电脑和笔记本电脑，将必须办理托运。

　　The Trump⁴ administration (along with Britain) had already imposed similar restrictions⁵ on flights from some Middle Eastern countries in March. 3月份特朗普当局(连同英国)就已经对一些中东国家的航班实施了类似的限制。

　　It seemed security officials had got wind of a specific terrorist threat, possibly involving Islamic State (IS) , and perhaps similar to an attack perpetrated on a Somalian jet in 2016. 很有可能是安全官员得到了关于恐怖主义威胁的密报，也许跟伊斯兰国(IS)有关，类似于2016年在索马里喷气机上发动的一次恐怖袭击事件。

　　Then, a terrorist blew a hole in the side of an airliner⁶ using a small bomb concealed⁷ in a laptop placed against the cabin wall.  一名恐怖分子使用放置在机舱墙壁上的一颗隐藏在笔记本电脑中的小型炸弹在机身侧面炸开了一个洞。

　　(The terrorist got his timing⁸ wrong, detonated too early, and was sucked to his doom⁹; no one else was seriously hurt.) （恐怖分子弄错了时间，过早引爆，自己被吸出客机，没有其他人受到严重的伤害）。

　　The reason for the apparent change of mind was unclear as The Economist¹⁰ went to press. 正如 《经济学人》一篇文章说的那样，意见改变的原因尚不清楚。

　　Airlines had complained that alternative security options, such as enhanced screening of passengers and their carry-on luggage, had not been fully¹¹ explored. 航空公司曾抱怨说，其他安全方案，例如加强对乘客及其随身携带的行李的检查，这类措施尚未考虑周全。

　　They also warned of the dangers of storing more lithium batteries in the hold. 他们还警告了一次带有多块锂电池的危险性。

　　Such batteries, which are used in most electronic devices, have on occasion combusted and brought down commercial aircraft, including a UPS cargo¹² plane in 2010. 这种在大多数电子设备中都会使用的电池有时会自燃而导致飞机迫降，比如2010年时的UPS货机。

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