Which makes sense, because, really, nobody is going to hijack a plane with those items.
On the other hand, box cutters are still forbidden. As are knives with molded grips (regardless of blade length) and straight razors. What? Why? How are these any more of a threat to the aircraft than the others? Who knows?
One Southwest Airlines' Flight Attendants Union has condemned the move as being more for the convenience of the TSA (which appears to be true) but not for the safety of flight attendants. In this case, though, the key mission for the TSA needs to be preventing someone from taking over a plane and crashing it (remember 9-11?). Creating a safe work environment for flight attendants is not their remit — and the fact that a miscreant could do any number of deadly things with items already allowed aboard (from ballpoint pens to bare hands) means that such protests aren't useful.
Now, if there were some apparent coherency to what they are allowing aboard, I might actually feel positive about the whole thing, rather than it feeling typically capricious.
Reshared post from +Fox News
U.S. airline passengers will soon be allowed to carry small knives inside their carry-on bags, the Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday.
TSA allows knives on planes, flight attendants union calls decision ‘dangerous’
I'm waiting for a terrorist to try to commit a terrorist act with his/her clothing. Since security seems to be a reaction to the most recent security breach, this would mean that we'd all have to board the plane naked. Don't believe me? Why are we all taking off our shoes still?
Well, there was the underpants bomber… I just can't see even the TSA going for that…
Nobody is going to commit a terrorist act with things capable of killing someone? Well, there’s an interesting definition.