Nightly News   |  March 14, 2013

Aviation employees demand TSA drop new knife rule

The TSA is facing mounting opposition from many of the biggest players in aviation safety, including flight attendants and its own screeners. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> lot of heat forhose new and relaxed rus tt woul aow knives d thing like golf clubs and hockey sticks back o airplanes. that would be a post 9/11 first. a lot of peoe haveomeut againsit including fligh atndants, pilots, air marshas and some ts screers. the bossf the tsa was cled capitolill todayo answer for it. tom costello cover aviation r us. he's with us tonight from rgan natial and one of the tsa chkpoints. tom, good evenin

>> reporter: hi, brn. goodevening. e tsa confiscates small pocket knives like this every day. they sate takes u time and they ouldill looking more intentlyor explosiv. manyeople say there shouldn't a trade-off. on citolilloday unions representing air mahalls, airline employees and flight attendants demanded the t drop its plan to allow small knives on commerciaflight a knife like ts is a weapon andt dsn't belg on an ailane.

>> rorte the unis claim to represent 90,000 flight atndants but the ts chi said he never consulted wh any flight attennts bore changing the kniferule.

>> i could have done a better job of briing them in earlie

>> reporter: the backlash of the knife policy has gro to employ ery player. threeajorairlines, u.s. airway amerin an delta, pose aowingmall knives on ard. sooes the union representing the tss o screening offirs.

>> i just don't belve that there is a pce for kniveor weapons of any kind on ailane

>> reporter: but the agency insists since cockpit drs are no reinforced small knives don't pe a threat. th tshiefhowed a video to make the point.

>> his is the kind of devic i want our secity officers lookin for.

>> reporter: thebama administtion tsa is getting support for t new list of what's allowed from some republican lawmakers.

>> i want to commend y on this list you he come o with would like for i to be a littlelong, but you have made a good start.

>> reporter: while some democrats are threatening legislatioto block the new les.

>> this tsa knife poly wi not flyith e amerin pele. weill not rest uil america's flight attendants , pilots, r marshas, a pasngers ar protected. but tonigh despite the uproar the tsa sayt is sticking with the new knife policy. mr.pistole said consulted inteally wh air marshalls and screenersut they e now opposed tohe plan and so are a lot of pilots. brian?

>> tom costello at reagan internatnal airport for us nigh thanks.