Tsa

News that the tiny Samoa-based carrier Samoa Air has begun to charge fares based on the weight of its passengers has some fliers worried that the idea might catch on with other airlines. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is the concept of the future,” said Samoa Air's chief executive, Chris Langton. But industry experts don't think the idea will fly. “Any airline that tries that, heavy people would not fly that airline,” said Jan Brueckner, a UC Irvine economics professor and expert on the airline industry.

An off-duty California police officer is being credited for going to the rescue of a security agent being assaulted at the Honolulu airport. Corporal Justin Rogers of the Pinole Police Department was on vacation and had just taken off his shoes to go through security March 30 when he spotted the assault, the Contra Costa Times reported. Security footage released Thursday showed a woman hitting a female Transportation Security Administration officer and putting her in a headlock.

Wounded soldiers and veterans can now go through airport screening gates without removing their shoes, hats or light jackets, the Transportation Security Administration announced. The TSA's decision to ease screening for wounded soldiers comes about two weeks after the agency came under harsh criticism over the way it screened a wheelchair-bound U.S. Marine at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. In the March 13 incident, critics of the TSA say that screeners humiliated the Marine by forcing him to remove his prosthetic legs and then put them back on to walk through a full-body scanner.

WASHINGTON - More than a decade after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Transportation Security Administration is reassessing airline safety with an eye toward identifying the most likely threats. On Thursday, TSA Administrator John Pistole made his first appearance before Congress since last week's announcement that small knives, golf clubs, hockey sticks and assorted other items were no longer prohibited. "These are not things that terrorists are intending to use," Pistole told a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

Another airline executive is speaking out on a plan by federal regulators to allow passengers to bring small knives into the cabin of commercial planes. Doug Parker, chief executive at US Airways, wrote to the head of the Transportation Security Administration on Monday, asking that the agency reconsider the proposed policy change. The TSA announced last week plans to let passengers carry small folding knives -- with blades no more than 2.36 inches long and 1/2 inch wide -- into the cabin of a commercial plane, starting April 25. It is the biggest relaxation of the list of prohibited items since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Re "TSA to allow small knives on passenger planes," March 6 I wish to congratulate the highly intelligent folks who make decisions at the Transportation Security Administration pertaining to what passengers may carry on board airplanes. Allowing us to have small knives, golf clubs, pool cues and hockey sticks on board will definitely reduce the time we spend in the security lines, not to mention the added safety we passengers will feel. But be warned, all you thirsty people trying to smuggle a bottle of water through security: TSA agents will have more time to catch you. Dada Vaswani Hacienda Heights ALSO: Letters: What ails the state GOP Letters: Medicare works, so why change?

A move by federal officials to allow passengers to board planes carrying pocket knives has sparked a backlash by airline workers and is sowing confusion among travelers. The union representing air marshals has joined flight attendants, pilots and airline insurance firms in calling on the Transportation Security Administration to reconsider its decision to relax a list of prohibited carry-on items. More than 12,000 people have signed an online petition urging President Obama to keep knives off planes.

A number of flight attendants and air marshals want the Transportation and Security Administration to reconsider its decision to allow passengers to carry small knives aboard planes starting next month. The changes in the carry-on security standards, announced Tuesday, have prompted action from unions and associations representing air marshals and flight attendants who worry about their safety in the post- 9/11 world. George Randall, head of the air marshal unit of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assn., told CNN : "It's as if we didn't learn anything from 9/11.

A change in federal policy to allow small knives and sporting goods on commercial planes has generated strong reaction from passengers, pilots and flight attendants. Join us at 2:30 p.m. PST for a live video chat with reporter Hugo Martin and representatives of flight attendants concerned about the new policy. Click back here to join in on the discussion. John Pistole, the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, announced that starting April 25 the agency will let passengers bring small knives, golf clubs, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and small novelty bats into the cabin of commercial planes.