TSA Reverses Ruling on Knives

A few months ago, the TSA announced they would begin to allow small knives and some sporting goods onto aircraft. The decision was made because they agency felt screeners should concentrate on more serious weapons such as bombs.

But the backlash by practically everyone—flight attendants, airlines, police officers, much of the traveling public—was unexpected.

So TSA kept postponing the date of implementation.

That is until today, Wednesday, when they announced that they would reverse their decision and keep these items prohibited.

Comments

[David G]

Baaaah, sheep. Stupid rules like this protect no one, it simply disarms honest people. TSA has proven time and time again they can't screen with any level of accuracy.

[tim foutz]

Idiots and sheep

[tcl]

I was looking forward to putting my picnic knife and wine bottle opener back into my carry-on. I feel so wasteful when I go out and buy a wine bottle opener or picnic knife only to have to leave it behind at the end of my trip.

[Fun Travel]

In flagship airlines, the FA's don't want their all powerfull status on board to be "threatened" and the same flagship airlines want to concentrate on the small stuff, not on screening the huge amount of cargo they transport in passengers flights.

Passengers tickets and bag fees pay for the fuel used to transport cargo load.

Once a flagship airline CEO was asked about screening cargo, he shifted in his seat, looked away
and changed subject.

[Frank@OBOW]

Airlines don't screen people or cargo. The TSA does. The security fee you pay, and the security charge on cargo pays for the screenings.

The airlines don't like the idea of screening cargo because it slows things down and could make flights late. Ontime performance is very important.

Airlines make their profit from the following:

1) cargo
2) business and first class ticket sales
3) incidental charges

Because of the income from the above three, airlines can keep economy class ticket prices low.

Flight attendants were not the only ones against allowing knives back on. So were most law enforcement organizations as well as pilot unions.

[CJ]

@David

We'll see that's the problem right there. Disarms? If you consider a tiny little folding knife to be a weapon then it's obviously going to get barred from a carry on. And when the loudest arguments for them are from people such as yourself ranting about being disarmed... Well you make people feel like banning petty stuff is a good thing. It isn't, it's absurd, but if you call it a weapon then it will be treated like a weapon.

Which is annoying as razors and the like are usually rolled into bladed instruments. No pocket knives means no razors other than those awful and wasteful disposables or bulky electrics.