The following editorial appeared in Wednesday’s Washington Post:
Knives on planes: Can the Transportation Security Administration be serious?
That has been the reaction of some members of Congress to the TSA’s announcement that it will loosen restrictions on what passengers can carry aboard airliners. Next month, federal airport screeners will no longer force you to surrender hockey sticks, golf clubs, toy baseball bats, or pocketknives — as long as the blades don’t lock in place and aren’t too long.
In fact, it makes plenty of sense for TSA agents to be looking for bombs that could bring down a plane, not scouring luggage for penknives. The agency is not and cannot be in the business of protecting every passenger and crew member from every conceivable threat. If it tried, it would have to ban a lot more than knives, and its effort would cost far more money, gobble up more of passengers’ already overbooked airport time or both.
Instead, government resources and travelers’ time should be spent with a sense of priority. Airplanes pose unique dangers that justify the frustration that comes with airport screening. Terrorists have committed mass murder by using planes as weapons: forcing them to crash and blowing them up in midair. In the post-Sept. 11 era of reinforced cockpit doors, savvy passengers, a more robust air marshal program and flight attendants trained in self-defense, allowing penknives onto planes would not result in such tragedies.
The change would, however, lead to less hassle for the tourist who forgot to take her knife off her key ring and less wasted time for the screener who must do the hassling. Opponents charge that the opposite could be true; instead of just confiscating knives, TSA agents might have to measure blade lengths.