The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it will let people carry small pocketknives onto passenger planes for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Passengers will also be allowed to carry on golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball-style bats.

The agency will permit knives with retractable blades shorter than 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) and narrower than 1/2 inch at the widest point, TSA Administrator John Pistole said at an aviation security conference in Brooklyn. The change, to conform with international rules, will take effect April 25.

Overseas passengers will no longer have to check the qualifying knives as they pass through the U.S. The agency will still prohibit some knives, including those with locking blades or molded handles, Bloomberg News said. Box cutters, like those used by the Sept. 11 terrorists, and razor blades will still be banned.

The agency will relax its prohibited-item list in other ways, as well. For example, passengers will be allowed to carry on sticks used to play lacrosse, billiards and hockey, ski poles and as many as two golf clubs.