Finally? TSA To Allow Passengers’ Small Knives On Planes Again

Decision sparks outrage from flight attendants, who worry about safety

Delays, cancellations, being boarded and parked on a tarmac for hours: that sounds like a recipe for irritable airline passengers. So is it a good idea that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday announced it would again allow passengers to bring small pocketknives on board? Probably not, right? With the federal sequester budget cuts set to impact TSA staffing; there is no indication that air travel in the U.S. is poised to get better for passengers any time soon. Still, effective April 25, the transportation agency will instruct its employees to allow knives with blades that are 2.36 inches or less in length and less that 1/2 inch wide. Razors, box cutters and knives with fixed blades -- itens that were banned after the U.S. terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001-- will still be prohibited. In other words, get ready to stand or sit next to the passenger with a bad temper, who also has a Swiss army knife on him. Oh, joy! (Reuters)

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