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Travelers hurrying to catch flights at US airports are now exempt from having to take off their shoes during security checks, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The end of the ritual put in place almost 20 years ago was effective nationwide effective immediately, she said on Tuesday.
Noem mentioned that a pilot program demonstrated that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) possesses the necessary equipment to ensure both airport and aircraft safety, even as passengers leave their shoes on.
âTSA will no longer require travellers to remove their shoes when they go through security checkpoints,â Noem said.
Even though shoe removal isn’t a standard practice anymore, some passengers might still be asked to take off their footwear “if we believe additional screening layers are needed,” she noted.
Security screening sans shoes became a requirement in 2006, several years after âshoe bomberâ Richard Reidâs failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.
All passengers between the ages of 12 and 75 were required to remove their shoes, which were scanned along with carry-on luggage.
The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change would happen soon.
Travellers previously were able to skirt the requirement if they participated in the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around US$80 (A$120) for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets, and without having to take their laptops and bagged toiletries out.
The TSA began in 2001 when President George W. Bush signed legislation for its creation two months after the 9/11 attacks. The agency included federal airport screeners that replaced the private companies airlines had used to handle security.
Over the years the TSA has continued to look for ways to enhance its security measures, including testing facial recognition technology and implementing Real ID requirements.
One of the most prominent friction points for travellers is the TSA at screening checkpoints. President Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked the public in an April social media post what would make travel more seamless.
The following day, Duffy posted on X that, âItâs clear that TSA is the #1 travel complaint. That falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Iâll discuss this with @Sec_Noem.â
Trump fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske in January in the middle of a second five-year term, though he was appointed by Trump during his first term in the White House. Pekoske was reappointed by President Joe Biden.
No reason was given for Pekoskeâs departure. The administrator position remains vacant, according to the TSA website.
