The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, under pressure from airline executives, unions, lawmakers and its own employees, reversed a plan to end a decade-long ban on carrying pocket knives onto U.S. airliners.
Administrator John Pistole is backing off his plan to lift the knife ban after a month of meetings with industry stakeholders, some of whom have cited the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers’ use of box cutters as weapons.
The decision to retain the knife ban was confirmed in a TSA statement e-mailed by spokesman David Castelveter on Wednesday.
The policy, announced in March, would have eased restrictions on carrying on knives with blades less than 2.36 inches long, as well as hockey sticks and golf clubs. The agency had justified the change as an attempt to match U.S. rules with those in other parts of the world and better reflect intelligence on active terrorist threats.
Pistole delayed the planned April 25 implementation of the change after the detonation of two bombs at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and wounding more than 200.
He reversed his decision after meeting with groups such as flight-attendant and screeners unions.
