US to Allow small knives, bats and golf clubs on Planes from April 25

Under a policy change announced by the head of the US Transportation Security Administration. Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month. The policy goes into effect on April 25.


The agency said in a statement, that. The new policy conforms US security standards to international standards and allows TSA to concentrate its energies on more serious safety threats.

The announcement drew an immediate outcry from unions representing flight attendants and other airline workers, who said the items are still dangerous in the hands of the wrong passengers.

Transport Workers Union Local 556, called the new policy "dangerous" and "shortsighted," saying it was designed to make "the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer. While we agree that a passenger wielding a small knife or swinging a golf club or hockey stick poses less of a threat to the pilot locked in the cockpit, these are real threats to passengers and flight attendants in the passenger cabin."

David Castelveter, a spokesman for the agency, said. The policy change was based on a recommendation from an internal TSA working group, which decided the items represented no real danger.

The presence on flights of gun-carrying pilots traveling as passengers, federal air marshals and airline crew members trained in self-defense provide additional layers of security to protect against misuse of the items, he said”.

The policy is aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other knives.

The new policy permits folding knives with blades that are 2.36 inches (6 centimeters) or less in length and are less than 1/2-inch (1-centimeter) wide, novelty-sized baseball bats less than 24 inches long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs, but Box cutters, razor blades and knives that don't fold or that have molded grip handles will still be prohibited, the TSA said. The agency said, passengers also will be allowed to bring onboard as part of their carry-on luggage.