WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration is abandoning a plan to allow passengers to carry small knives, souvenir bats, golf clubs, and other sports equipment onto planes in the face of fierce congressional and industry opposition, the head of the agency said Wednesday.
By scuttling the plan to drop the knives and sports equipment from TSA’s list of prohibited items, the agency can focus on other priorities, including expanding its Pre-Check program to identify ahead of time travelers who don’t pose a security risk, said TSA Administrator John Pistole.
Pistole had unveiled the proposal to loosen the rules for carry-ons in March, saying the knives and other items cannot enable terrorists to cause a plane to crash. He said intercepting them takes time that would be better used searching for explosives and other more serious threats. TSA screeners confiscate more than 2,000 of the small folding knives a day.
Skeptical lawmakers, airlines, labor unions, and law enforcement groups complained that the knives and other items could be used to injure or even kill passengers and crew.
Last month 145 House members signed a letter to Pistole asking him to keep in place the policy prohibiting the knives and other items in carry-on bags. Flight attendant unions organized protests in Washington and at airports across the country. And Airlines for America, which represents major US airlines, as well as top executives from some of the nation’s largest airlines, came out against the plan.
‘‘After getting the input from all these different constituents, I realized there was not across-the-board support that would serve us well in moving forward,’’ Pistole said. By dispensing with the controversial proposal, he said the agency can focus on programs to identify the greatest security threats.
Pistole’s announcement that he was dropping the plan came as the House was expected to vote on an amendment to a Homeland Security spending bill that would block the TSA from spending money to implement the plan. The amendment will still be offered and it is expected to pass, said Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, a sponsor of the amendment.
Pistole’s decision is a ‘‘victory for every single person who sets foot on a plane, and a reaffirmation that the government listens to the people,’’ Markey said in a statement.
But some opponents changed their position in recent weeks as Pistole explained his reasoning to Congress and in meetings with interest groups.