Steak Knife
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

Steak Knives Banned at Restaurants at Airport in New York

W ith safety at stake, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has banned the use of metal steak knives in restaurants in the secure area of John F. Kennedy International Airport after an investigative report jointly conducted by Newsday and News 12 Long Island revealed just how easy it was during repeated tests to remove those knives from the restaurants — without the servers realizing they were taken — and potentially carry them onto airplanes.

“We’re above and beyond what the TSA requires,” Chris Valens — a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — reportedly said pertaining to the implementation of the ban.

The steak knives in question had blades of serrated steel five inches in length; and they were handed out to passengers dining at two steakhouses within the airport: The Palm Bar & Grille in international Terminal 4; and Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Terminal 8.

Either plastic knives or butter knives are apparently already used at restaurants at Fiorello LaGuardia and Newark International Airports — which are also under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — and steak eaters who dine in the restaurants at John F. Kennedy International Airport will most likely need to deal with similar cutlery.

New York was the primary focus during the terror attacks conducted on September 11, 2001 where the weapons of choice used by the terrorists were box cutters, which in turn allowed them to use four large airplanes as deadly weapons on a suicide mission. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville in Pennsylvania as a result.

The question I pose to you is: have you eaten in a restaurant located in the secure area of an airport with a sharp steak knife recently? If so, does that concern you pertaining to safety in commercial aviation in the United States — or do you believe that the banning of metal serrated steak knives at airport restaurants in New York is simply an overreaction?

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

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