As a flight attendant for 14 years and local union president of three bases, I am very concerned over the recent Transportation Security Administration decision to allow knives back into the aircraft cabin.

Flight attendants are responsible for the safety and security of the passengers in the cabin, and knowing that there could be dangerous concealed weapons on board makes me and my co-workers extremely frightened. All it takes is the wrong person at the wrong time to create a disaster.

We need to protect our skies. Over the past 10 years, the United States has become the leader …

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Re: “Americans on no-fly list allowed to learn to fly” (newstribune.com, 7-18).

Can you imagine that 11 years after 9/11 that the government is allowing people who do not have permission to be in this country (illegal aliens) to attend flying school in the U.S.? Can you imagine that a flying school in the U.S. is operated by someone who does not have permission to be in this country, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Is the government trying to recreate 9/11?

And in the meantime, as airline passengers, we are subjected to being groped by Transportation Security Administration …

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Your twin articles (TNT, 3-11) about the shopping opportunities now available at airports were very interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I took part of my Sunday afternoon to see if some of these wonderful opportunities were available locally, at Sea-Tac International Airport.

Imagine my surprise to learn that only ticketed passengers could even get to the shopping oases described in the article. Airport planners (and the Transportation Safety Administration) might want to consider that there is a large local population who might still enjoy the opportunity to watch aircraft operations while taking advantage of the new shopping and …

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Re: “Experiences have all been positive” (letter, 1-11).

Though the issues of civil rights and privacy/personal embarrassment are really important, the discussion so far about airport scanners has left out a critical element: the safety of the scanners themselves.

As someone who got cancer from an overdose of X-ray radiation, I question the use of such potentially hazardous technology, especially when less dangerous alternatives are available. And I am not alone. The European Union banned these machines last year, “in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety,” according to a EU press release.

The backscatter X-ray scanners …

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Re: “Security checks make flying a nightmare” (letter, 1-9).

The letter was written by a gentleman having great problems with airport security’s full-body scan.

I am close to 81. I am also a veteran. My basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., in the 1950s included showers at midnight after a day’s field training.

Hot water was gone after about 25 percent of the platoon had some. Six or eight of us were squeezed in the small space like sardines. Any thoughts of shyness about proximity of various delicate body parts? You gotta be kidding.

Worried about my appearance in …

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Re: “Security checks make flying a nightmare” (letter, 1-9).

Like the gentleman who wrote to complain about the intrusiveness of the Transportation Security Administration inspection, I am no longer young. I am also retired from the Army, my eyes are also blue, and my hair, when I had hair, was blond.

I usually make it through the airport checkpoints without any more, or less, hassle than anyone else. On the other hand, my son is, as I am, a pretty good-sized guy. Unlike me, his normal disposition is sunny, and he is usually smiling. Like almost every male of …

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I am an 81-year-old male with blond hair and blue eyes. I am also a retired Army chief warrant officer.

On Dec. 2, I was subjected to one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. This was in retaliation because I declined the opportunity of permitting someone to view my naked body by using an X-ray machine at the airport.

It is beyond my understanding why the ACLU has not taken this up as a “cause celebre.” I am absolutely convinced that members of Congress and high-ranking officials of the executive and judicial branches are not subjected to such …

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Re: Bill Hall column (TNT, 12-11).

Sorry about your disappointment that no one wanted to search your body at the airport. I have the perfect solution for us and all saggy old men: Get a knee replacement as I did about a year ago. They’ll want you every time.

Since I got mine, I’ve been pawed over in Paris twice, Barcelona, Dallas twice, New York City twice and Seattle three times! Seemed like they wanted to get that “gag reflex” (or is it reflux?) experience over with asap.

So I’m thinking of creating a rating system for security inspectors. Instead …

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