Says It Puts Passengers At Risk
Sen. Charles E. Schumer called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to reverse its decision to allow airline passengers to carry small knives, baseball bats, golf clubs and other potentially weaponizable equipment onto airplanes.
In response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, TSA prohibited passengers from carrying these items on planes due to security risks, but this week announced it would be ending that policy.
Schumer called the TSA to continue to ban knives and other dangerous items from airplanes as they could potentially put passengers, flight attendants, pilots and even the structural integrity of the plane at risk. He said the policy change would provide few tangible benefits for passengers.
The senator also noted that this week undercover federal agents were able to smuggle a mock bomb through security at Newark Airport, exposing a significant security risk. Schumer will say now is not the time to become less vigilant, and that TSA agents shouldn’t be distracted by new rules requiring them to measure the length of knives and bats.
“While it’s true that pilots are safe locked behind cockpit doors, these dangerous items still pose a significant hazard tot he flight crew, other passengers, and even the integrity of the plane,” said Schumer. “These items are dangerous, and have not become less so in the years since they were banned from planes.”
John Pistole, a TSA administrator, recently announced that the agency would allow small knives, blades, small baseball bats, toy bats, gol clubs, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, ski poles and billiard cues to be carried onboard airplanes.
The rule, which goes into effect Apr. 25, 2013, includes small knives with non-locking blades smaller than 2.36 inches and less than one-half inch in width.
Recently, many organizations and unions have come out against the TSA’s new rule. These organizations include Flight Attendants Union Coalition, which represents thousands of flight attendants; the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents federal air marshalls; and the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association.
Additionally, many family members of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have voiced their opposition to the TSA’s new rule.
The TSA was founded as an agency of the Department of Transportation in November 2001, when Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in response to the 9/11 attacks. Since 2003, the TSA has been an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
