Short knives drawn: TSA allows blades.

• Author: Feeney, Matthew
• Position: Citings - Transportation Security Administration - Brief article

AMERICAN airline passengers may now carry previously prohibited items such as knives onto planes, thanks to a new policy announced by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in March. The new rules allow passengers to bring knives with nonlocking blades up to six centimeters long and less than half an inch wide into airplane cabins. Sports equipment such as ski poles and golf clubs is newly permitted as well.

Other familiar TSA restrictions remain in place. U.S. air passengers still must discard water bottles, remove their shoes, and take laptops out of their bags during screening.

The new policy did not please Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who pointed out that the items now allowed remain just as dangerous as they were when they were banned. "While it's true that pilots are safe, locked behind cockpit doors, these...