Earlier this month, the TSA announced changes to the list of prohibited carry-on items. Starting April 25, passengers can carry on small knives with non-locking blades no longer than 2.36″ and less than 1/2″ in width. Ski poles, toy bats, hockey sticks, golf clubs (two per passenger), ski poles, and pool cues are also allowed as carry-on items.

There is already a good deal of confusion about what is allowed on the cabin of a plane and this change will surely create additional questions and longer security lines, at least temporarily. If you have questions about what you can take in your hand luggage, please check out the TSA prohibited items page. There is a handy tool where you can type in the questionable item and get a specific response.

It will be interesting to see how these rule changes are implemented and what kind of delays this might cause. I see a lot of time spent measuring blades in security. I can assume (hope) that the screeners and passengers will get better as time goes on.