Rebecca Marchand Meets with Lawmakers Following Boston Tragedy

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Flight Attendants' Union Coalition, representing 90,000 Flight Attendants at carriers across the country, released an open letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole from Rebecca Marchand, widow of Flight Attendant Alfred Marchand who was murdered by men with small knives on 9/11, United flight 175. She is also a mother of a current Flight Attendant.

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"The attacks in Boston prove once again that we can't be selective in our vigilance. We must guard against all threats, big and small," Marchand writes. "As the wife of a Flight Attendant killed on 9/11, and the mother of a Flight Attendant who flies today, I have earned the right to say this: Knives have NO place on an airplane.

Rebecca Marchand is calling on Congress to make sure the dangerous policy change to allow knives will not be allowed to take effect.  She and her Flight Attendant son are visiting with lawmakers this week to build support for bipartisan legislation that will keep knives off the plane. The No Knives Act of 2013, H.R. 1093 was introduced by Congressmen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Michael Grimm (R-NY) last month. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have called for a reversal of the policy and last month filed a budget amendment resolution aimed at keeping the ban on knives in the aircraft cabin.

"Do not demean the lessons of 9/11 by dismissing the outcry over knives as 'emotional'. TSA was created because knives were used against crew and passengers to bring down four flights that day," Marchand reminds the Administrator. "Knives have NO place on an airplane."

Read the full letter from Rebecca Marchand at http://bit.ly/11nt84a

Air Marshals, Transportation Security Officers, and Pilots agree with Flight Attendants, as do many airline CEOs. There is a consensus among those in aviation security. The people on the front lines know knives must be kept out of the aircraft cabin.

The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions encourages the traveling public and their loved ones to join efforts to keep the ban on knives in the aircraft cabin. Go to www.NoKnivesOnPlanes.com to learn more.

The Flight Attendants Union Coalition coordinates on issues of mutual interest to Flight Attendants. Members of the Coalition are the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Transport Workers Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

SOURCE The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions