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Knives.jpg
Beginning April 25, the TSA says knives with blades no more than 2.36 inches in length from tip to where the blade meets the handle will be approved for carry-on luggage. These knives were previously confiscated. (AP/Gene Blythe photo)

Knives allowed on planes, local flight attendant says 'bad idea'

March 5, 2013 @ 6:29 pm (Updated: 5:40 am - 3/6/13 )

I've surrendered a snow globe from the San Francisco Zoo and at least one sippy cup filled with milk to the TSA while traveling with my kids after the September 11, 2001 attack.

I understood then. Today, a lot of people involved with the airline industry don't understand a new change from the TSA.

Small knives will be permitted in carry-on luggage on flights beginning April 25.

Knives with blades no more than 2.36 inches in length from tip to where the blade meets the handle - or hilt - will be approved for carry-on. The blade must be no more than half an inch in width. Box cutters would still be banned.

The TSA also announced toy bats and sporting equipment such as hockey sticks and golf clubs will also be allowed on board aircraft.

"This decision aligns TSA with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and our European counterparts," the TSA said in a statement.

At least two industry groups oppose the change. The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing nearly 90,000 Flight Attendants, called the decision "poor and shortsighted" in a statement urging the TSA to change its mind.

"As the last line of defense in the cabin and key aviation partners, we believe that these proposed changes will further endanger the lives of all Flight Attendants and the passengers we work so hard to keep safe and secure," they say.

"Flight Attendants are the front line safety and security professionals on board every commercial passenger aircraft in this country and must be given the tools and training to protect ourselves, our passengers and the aircraft."

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants represents 16,000 American Airlines employees, and they also asked the TSA to reconsider the policy change. They further question why such a "momentous decision" was made without consulting flight attendants.

Beyond knives, they say imagine the potential danger for passengers getting hit accidentally with hockey sticks, baseball bats or golf clubs.

There's no shortage of opinions on this through social media.

"As for weapons on the plane lets not forget that the TSA's own testing shows that the majority of "banned weapons" get onboard flights," writes Chris Cliff on Facebook.

"This is a moot point. There will never be another successful hijacking of an American airplane, or a plane with a significant number of Americans aboard because the default behavioral template for that environment has switched from passive acceptance to aggressive resistance," says says Bill Kortenbach. "Every time someone even looks like trouble, the passengers dog-pile them. Be even more formidable with blades allowed. Stop thinking like sheep."

A local flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, who didn't want me to use her name, says, "I have a slight feeling of fear every time I step on a plane. This doesn't help. It's a bad idea. It's time to find a new job."

By LINDA THOMAS

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Comments (23)


  • Add A Comment

  • Yadda1 wrote...
    Doesn't matter
    March 6, 2013 5:04 am
    You can strap a ceramiic knife to your ankle and get through security undetected. Just sayin'.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lonestar wrote...
    How long
    March 6, 2013 7:52 am
    Have you been out of prison? Good luck!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Yadda
    March 6, 2013 7:54 am
    i don't believe so,with the new scanners they even pick up Kleenex in your pocket.When TSA says to empty your pockets they mean everything
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    America
    March 6, 2013 5:05 am
    How quickly we forget.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Now, if City Hall and courthouses would get the hint............
    March 6, 2013 5:14 am
    I've carried a pocket knife since I was a Boy Scout many moons ago (I think it actually was a Scout requirement). And it's been so long it's second nature.

    But I've never thought of a jack knife as a weapon, nor anything other than the handy multi-tool my Swiss army knife is now. ..... Thank you, TSA (I can't believe I'm thanking TSA for anything), for allowing me to avoid carefully hiding (so it won't get stolen) my knife in checked luggage and allowing me to have it handy for whatever after deplaning.

    As for that Alaska flight attendant who has fear .."every time I step on a plane." It SHOULD be time for you to find a new job. ... I certainly do not want a flight attendant - who are supposed to be there to help passengers - to think of each and every one of us as a likely terrorist --- and treat us accordingly. ... No more than we appreciate police to treat the public ALL as criminals.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jstumbo wrote...
    flight attendants are all full of themselves.
    March 6, 2013 6:13 am
    they are basically hostesses like in a restaurant. Here is your seat. Here is a drink. Sure, sometimes there is an emergency, but 99.99% of their job could be done by the hostesses at the local Denny's making near minmum wage. That is what the flght attendant in the story will wind up doing if they quit.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William P wrote...
    Right-on Ron
    March 6, 2013 7:09 am
    No sense in being paranoid over my non-locking 2.25" lg.X .375 thk. swiss army knife. I think it may be time for this flight attendant to consider another career.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    ronp
    March 6, 2013 7:58 am
    Yes carry a pocket knife was a Boy Scout requirement.They figured if the Troop Leader knew Scouts were armed he might stay out of their pants.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    LOL -
    March 6, 2013 8:11 am
    sick joke, messiah. ... But still dang funny.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    Unions...
    March 6, 2013 6:02 am
    ... one more reason to get rid of them...

    There useful time is past now they are a hindrance to progress.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Seattle Dad wrote...
    I carried knives on planes for years
    March 6, 2013 7:15 am
    Never attacked one person or saw another person attacked. The knife isn't really the weapon. It's the person willing to use the weapon. First class on most flights now provide metal utensils again. I can carry metal onboard a plane now that doesn't look like a knife, but could be easily used as one. The flight attendant needs to find a new job if she travels in fear of an attack from a swiss army knife. Let's worry about the terrorists, and not a pocket knife.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    SeattleDad
    March 6, 2013 8:05 am
    Your logic is extremely flawed.Yes the knife is the weapon and until a screening system is devised that would allow TSA to know who will actually use a knife or any other weapon then its probably best not to allow them on board.Don't hold your breath
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Anyone that Thinks....
    March 6, 2013 7:27 am
    ...another airliner is going to be taken over by somebody wielding a knife is delusional. The policy of cooperation and submission is long gone. The flight deck doors are also now reinforced and locked.

    BTW, those slagging on flight attendants should try doing the job some time....including the emergency training they take.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • DJFavorite wrote...
    Agreed Drool
    March 6, 2013 8:51 am
    I personally don't have a problem with the rule change. What I've had problems with is the inconsistencies in the rules in the first place. Can't bring a pocket knife, but you could bring small sewing scissors, or even knitting needles. Those scissors and knitting needles can be just as dangerous as a small knife. I remember in the '80s, when you could still meet family at the gate when they arrived, we went to meet someone (not even getting on a plane), and the security rules were 'no guns'. They confiscated a bolo tie that had a 1 inch plastic gun lookalike because it looked like a gun. It couldn't even come out of the little 1 inch holster it was in on the tie. The bottom line, it isn't what is being brought onboard, but WHO is doing the bringing.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lonestar wrote...
    More Obamascare
    March 6, 2013 7:52 am
    We're all gonna die unless Dr. Evil gets 85 BILLION DOLLARS!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rayvensdad wrote...
    Ugh...
    March 6, 2013 10:50 am
    idiot.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • iceworker08 wrote...
    Hello, Government agency
    March 6, 2013 8:51 am
    "Flight Attendants, called the decision "poor and shortsighted"" Come on now. You are talking about a government agency. Calling them short sighted is being way to kind. How about totally incompetent and useless? They spend more time worried that a woman bringing breast milk that she doesn't want x rayed though then the fact that they give steel silverware to first class passengers. I have flown all over the planet and I can say that the security in the US is ineffective. In the Philippines I was scanned 3 times before I got to my gate and it only took 30 minutes. I try to get though a Us airport and I get scanned once and it takes almost 2 hours to get to my gate. knives? No they don't need to be on the plane.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WAmovesRight wrote...
    The Word "Knife"...
    March 6, 2013 9:17 am
    ... is like the word "gun"... just saying it causes a panic in the ill-informed.

    there is a world of difference between a combat knife and an "Old-timers' pocket knofe... but, since they are both called "knife" it scares the little stewardesses.

    Please! Enough with the insanity. If you're that fearful of your job, find a new one.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rayvensdad wrote...
    Just curious...
    March 6, 2013 10:45 am
    But wasn't it small sharp objects that allowed the terrorists to hijack the planes on 9/11???
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Rayvensdad, No it Wasn't
    March 6, 2013 11:09 am
    It was the ability to get to the flight deck and cooperation of those on board (crew and pax).
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BeenThere wrote...
    Drool...They got that "cooperation" by cutting the throats of the flight attendants and pilot on some of the planes.
    March 7, 2013 8:20 pm
    With their little box cutters.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GaryKerr wrote...
    pocketknives aren't box cutters
    March 12, 2013 5:28 pm
    Exactly! 9/11 hijackers used box cutters, not pocketknives. When Henry Fonda, in "Twelve Angry Men" stabbed the jury room table with a switch blade, everyone in the room, and probably everyone in the theater, recognized the knife as an illegal weapon. A blade that can be quickly extended, that locks in place, that has a large handgrip, with guards to keep your hand from slipping down onto the blade, is completely different from a Swiss Army or Boy Scout knife. People back in the 1950s used to know the difference, I don't understand how or why they've forgotten. A standard little pocketknife is NOT a weapon. You litterally will cut your fingers off if you try to use it in that manner.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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