Well, it seems TSA (a.k.a. Taking Scisssors Away, and Thousand Standing Around) has made the first official government move towards pretending 9/11 never happened. Today it will be announced that scissors up to 4 inches and screwdrivers will be allowed through security checkpoints. Benefits? Drawbacks? Well, I guess we can go back to preventing some minor maintenace delays with the fix it yourself mentality. The ability to screw in a single screw would have helped me avoid a few delays over the past five years. And no, I am not an advocate of trying to do a trained mechanics job. I am sure we all have a few nuisance screws that come loose in the cockpit though. And I don't mean the ones holding on your fellow crew members' head.
I think this new ruling, however is a big loss for all of us. 4 inch scissors seem capable of filling in for box cutters if you ask me. Is this TSA's way of admitting that they went overboard on their prohibitions, or is it their way of saying the threats to airliners have shifted away from sharp objects. The new focus has apparently been on lighters and flammable liquids that could be brought onbaord in these devices. All I know for sure is we are now permitting objects on to our aircraft that have been proven to be effective weapons in the hands of lunatics.
Sure, it is unlikely that even a sharpened scissor blade could penetrate a cockpit door, but it could sure put our flight attendants and passengers at risk of fatal injury. I wonder if this move was just an attempt at saving money, at reducing passenger lines, or a shift in policy based on intelligence. Anyone care to offer an opinion?