Federal officials said they are delaying a policy that would allow passengers to carry small knives, bats and other sports equipment onto airliners.
The Transportation Security Administration said Monday the policy change has been delayed to accommodate feedback from an advisory committee made up of aviation industry, consumer and law enforcement officials.
The TSA proposed the policy change last month, saying it would free up the agency to concentrate on protecting against greater threats. TSA screeners confiscate about 2,000 small folding knives from passengers every day.
The policy change also included small baseball bats, up to two golf clubs per passenger, hockey sticks and lacrosse sticks.
When the initial policy change was made, many passengers, pilots and flight attendants across the country were outraged that people would be allowed to bring small knives with them on an airplane.
Frequent flier Rich Kashian said he is against letting passenger have pocket knives on planes.
"I don't like it," Kashian said. "I travel every week and I don't think they should. It's that simple."
Traveler Solly Williams said she isn't sure. "I don't know honestly. I have mixed feelings on whether or not a pocket knife should be allowed. I think we've all learned how to conform to the current rules. I trust the people that make the rules based on what they've seen people try to get on to the planes all the time."
The policy was to go into effect Thursday. TSA officials said the delay is only temporary and no date has been set yet for when the change will start.
Meanwhile, FAA officials released a statement about the ongoing delays at airports nationwide:
As a result of employee furloughs due to sequestration, the FAA is implementing traffic management initiatives at airports and facilities around the country. Travelers can expect to see a wide range of delays that will change throughout the day depending on staffing and weather related issues. For example, the FAA is experiencing staffing challenges at the New York and Los Angeles En Route Centers and at the Dallas-Ft. Worth and Las Vegas TRACONs. Controllers will space planes farther apart so they can manage traffic with current staff, which will lead to delays at airports including DFW, Las Vegas and LAX. The FAA also expects delays at Newark and LaGuardia because of weather and winds.
The FAA will continue to work with the airlines throughout the day to try and minimize delays for travelers. We encourage all travelers to check their flight status and also to visit fly.faa.gov for the latest airport delay information.
Yesterday more than 1,200 delays in the system were attributable to staffing reductions resulting from the furlough. There were more than 1,400 additional delays as a result of weather and other factors.