US flight attendants ramp up anti-knife protest
Flight attendants in the US have starting lobbying passengers for their support in the battle to keep knives off commercial flights.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has begun handing leaflets to passengers at airports across the country, in an effort to reverse the recent ruling by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that would allow passengers to carry knives will blades of less than 6cm onboard flights. The union plans to gather support and present its petition to the US government before the new rules are implemented later this month.
Leaflets were handed out at yesterday (1 April 2013) at Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago O’Hare, Pittsburgh, Seattle-Tacoma and Washington Dulles airports. The passenger support will add to the concerns raised by the union’s membership of 60,000 cabin crew, plus aviation security experts, air marshals and airline executives.
The TSA claims the ruling will bring the US into line with international standards, but flight attendants have said it will endanger lives.