Flight attendants protest new policy on knives

WASHINGTON — The vice president of a flight attendants union says a new policy that would allow airline passengers to carry small knives is “outrageous.”

Sara Nelson, vice president of the Association of Flight Attendants, says they have to deal with “unruly passengers every day.” She says flight attendants are an aircraft’s “last line of defense,” and says the new rule puts them “in a much more dangerous position.”

On Tuesday the Transportation Security Administration announced a policy change that would allow airline passengers to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes, beginning next month.

Appearing Thursday on NBC’s “Today,” Nelson said the policy change “cannot stand.” She says even small knives can be deadly weapons.