Los Angeles Times: Swiss Ease Ban on Knives on Flights

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Swiss Ease Ban on Knives on Flights
By JONATHAN FOWLER
Associated Press Writer

January 3 2002, 9:38 AM PST

GENEVA -- A ban on airline passengers carrying knives on board flights from
Switzerland has been relaxed, aviation officials said Thursday.

Geneva airport spokesman Philippe Roy said passengers can take knives in their
carry-on baggage if the blade is shorter than 2.36 inches and cannot be locked
open.

But at Zurich airport, spokesman Joern Wagenbach said security officers would
continue to confiscate any knives they find.

Bans were imposed worldwide in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, when the
hijackers who crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are
believed to have used knives or box cutters to take control of the aircraft.

Credit card records showed that Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the hijacking
teams, bought two knives while he spent several hours in Zurich airport on his
way from Miami to Madrid last July.

Swiss army pocket knives with multiple short blades and tools are a popular
souvenir, often found on sale in Switzerland's airport shops.

"You have to do the maximum to ensure security in a plane, but you should avoid
total paranoia," said Roy, who said the ban was relaxed after Swiss authorities
consulted the aviation industry.

Daniel Goering, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation,
said: "Every time something happens -- like Sept. 11 -- security measures are
reviewed, and if there is a need for a long-term change then that change will be
made." Airports were free to apply stricter standards if they wish, he said.

A ban remains on longer-bladed knives, which were forbidden long before the
terrorist attacks in the United States, said Roy.

"Our staff confiscated 250 long knives in August," he said. "After the ban in
September we confiscated more than 5,000 objects -- not only knives, but
scissors and so on."

"Even now I would still advise anyone who wants to carry even a Swiss army knife
to put it in their hold baggage, just to avoid any security delays," he said.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press