TSA Postpones Plan to Allow Knives on Planes

If you were worried about the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) proposal to allow small knives on planes, you can relax—for now. The agency is postponing a policy change that would permit passenger to carry knives of a certain size, baseball bats, and golf clubs onboard planes.

According to a report from the AP, federal officials announced on Monday that the relaxed carry-on rules, which were set to take effect Thursday, will have to wait. The delay will allow the TSA to consider feedback from law enforcement and industry experts.

In a statement, the TSA said, “This timing will enable TSA to incorporate the feedback about the changes to the Prohibited Items List and continue workforce training.” Originally, the agency had proposed the new rules in order to focus on more pressing security concerns.

The TSA will have no shortage of feedback as it waits to implement its plan. The policy change, which would allow knives smaller than 2.36 inches long and less than half an inch wide in carry-on luggage, has already incited a big backlash. Flight attendant’s unions voiced opposition to the plan, as did many politicians. Sara Nelson, international vice president of the Association of Flight Attendants, told USA Today, “In the wake of the terrorist bombing in Boston last week … now is not the time to weaken transportation security. Flight attendants are breathing a sigh of relief that the weapons that led to the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in our nation’s history will not be allowed in the aircraft cabin this week.”

In the past, seeming harmless little knives have wreaked havoc in the air: The terrorists who hijacked planes on September 11 used box cutters to subdue passengers. Though the TSA’s updated policy continues to ban box cutters, it’s not surprising that the thought of knives on planes makes many travelers uneasy.

What do you think? Should knives be allowed on planes?

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