Washington -- Airline passengers can carry scissors, screwdrivers and other sharp implements aboard flights within the country under new federal rules expected to be announced Friday.The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reportedly plans to focus more on detecting bombs that terrorists might attempt to smuggle onto airplanes while relaxing rules that affect innocent passengers.TSA chief Kip Hawley is set to give a speech tomorrow in which he apparently will outline the agency's new policy, which is expected to take effect Dec. 20. He will likely provide greater detail about the kinds of sharp implements that the TSA will allow aboard airplanes.The chairman of the House Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee, Rep. John Mica, on Wednesday praised the TSA move."They're trying to shift from shaking down little old ladies with scissors and knitting needles to looking at what the real threats are," Mica was reported as saying. "Explosives are my major concern."Also supporting the new policy is the Air Transport Association (ATA), which represents the country's major airlines."We should be focusing on what poses the greatest risk," ATA spokesman David Castelveter was quoted as saying.But the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, Patricia Friend, opposed more lenient rules, citing the box cutters that terrorists used to gain control of the four airplanes involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 high-jackings."The devastating effects of 9/11 showed the world how a simple box cutter could become a deadly weapon in the hands of the wrong person," Friend was quoted as saying.In response, Mica and other supporters of the new TSA policy contend that tightened airline security makes it highly unlikely that terrorists could repeat the disaster of Sept. 11. Thousands of federal marshals now fly undercover; cockpit doors are reinforced and pilots are instructed not to open them in case of attack; and pilots can voluntarily carry guns on planes.