What is The T.S.A. Thinking?

Today marks my first day back from a short vacation to Spring Training in the Sunshine State, which is appropriately named. When I travel I always seem to have things happen to me that doesn't seem to happen to others. Today's blog will be the first of a series of blogs related to the airline industry.

So I am flying at 30 or so thousand feet above the ground on my way to Florida Wednesday morning, reading USA Today, when I came across a story about changes being made by the TSA. John Pistole, the Administrator of the United States Transportation Security Administration and former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, last Tuesday announced a series of changes to the TSA's policy on knives and sporting equipment on planes.

Starting April 25, certain retractable knives, novelty bats and sporting sticks will be allowed as carry-on items for the first time since 9/11. Are they serious? The TSA said they were trying to align more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

Effective April 25, 2013, TSA will allow knives that do not lock, and have blades that are 2.36 inches or 6 centimeters or less in length and are less than 1/2 inch in width on the plane. Plus now you can carry on toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs as part of their carry-on baggage. I wouldn't want to be hit by any of those "toy" items. And after all of these changes I still can't bring my large toothpaste tube on the aircraft. God knows I wouldn't want to be skyjacked by a tube of Crest or Colgate.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting. Let people carry a knife on the plane? Why? Once again common sense fails to prevail. Looks like the friendly skies just got a little less friendly with this decision.

Tomorrow: Blog two in a series regarding our wonderful airline industry.