TSA to allow small knives, select sports equipment on planes

For the first time since 2001, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is allowing small knives and select sports equipment, including bats and golf clubs, to be carried onto planes.

The formerly prohibited items, which were banned following the September 11 attacks, include knives that do not lock and have blades that are 2.36 inches in length and are less than 1/2 inch in width, novelty-sized and toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and golf clubs.

Those items will be allowed in carry-on luggage starting April 25.

In a statement, the TSA said that the changes in security are so that it can “align more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization standards” and “better focus [the TSA’s] efforts on finding higher threat items such as explosives.”

But not everyone is thrilled about the change.

The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing nearly 90,000 flight attendants, blasted the TSA’s decision.

“[The] announcement to permit knives back into the aircraft cabin is a poor and shortsighted decision by the TSA. Continued prohibition of these items is an integral layer in making our aviation system secure and must remain in place,” the union said in a statement. “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.”