The US Transportation Security Administration, bowing to protests led by airline flight attendants, has abandoned its plan to allow small pocket knives in carry-on baggage.
In a statement, the TSA said it would "continue to enforce the current prohibited items list" that also includes golf clubs, billiard cues and baseball bats. "We will continue to take steps to improve our ever-evolving security posture while also improving the experience of the travelling public," the agency added.
Flight attendants in particular reacted with anger when TSA chief John Pistole proposed in March that small pocket knives and some sporting goods should be allowed into airline cabins.
Doing so would enable screeners at airports to focus more on explosives. It would also have put the US in line with European Union rules allowing short-bladed knives in cabin baggage.