The Transportation Security Administration has begun phasing out the long-standing requirement for passengers to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Tuesday the major policy change from TSA that may streamline airport security processes, reduce wait times, and improve the passenger experience nationwide.
The new policy applies initially to a set of pilot airports equipped with updated scanning technology and lower-risk profiles, with a broader national rollout expected to follow quickly.
The first airports to implement the change include:
- Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
- Portland International (PDX)
- Philadelphia International (PHL)
- Piedmont Triad International (GSO) in North Carolina
In addition, major hubs such as Los Angeles International (LAX) and New York’s LaGuardia (LGA) have already adopted the policy as part of TSA’s rapid deployment.
TSA officials confirmed that the change will apply to most travelers unless they trigger an alarm during screening. The agency emphasized that the new policy does not compromise safety; advanced scanning systems continue to detect concealed items without requiring shoe removal in most cases.
For Alaskans, the update is welcome news. Travelers in the state often wear heavy-duty boots due to rugged terrain, heavy work, and exposure to cold weather, making shoe removal at security checkpoints time-consuming and cumbersome. With TSA aiming to expand the policy nationwide, Alaska’s major airports may follow in the footsteps of the pilot airports.
The change is part of a broader modernization effort by the Department of Homeland Security to make air travel more efficient while maintaining security. The shoe removal rule, in place since 2001, has long been one of the most unpopular parts of the airport screening process.
What about shoe bombers? Remember those? The scariest part is that they usually travel in pairs.
They travel in pairs!
I see what you did there, very punny.
.
Seriously though, the amount of explosive you can fit into the sole of a shoe is so small the only real damage would be to the bomber themselves. Yes, the aircraft would sustain damage, but enough to crash it? No, even if the bomber was sitting in exactly the right place.
.
Most other countries have dropped the requirement to take off shoes, and curiously, those countries have not had a shoe bomber board and explode their feet.
Now for belts, next
Heavy alaskan boots alarm 9 times out of 9 so doesn’t change anything.
There is nothing about TSA screening that is popular.
About freaking time. Instead of putting Richard Reid on trial and then rolling him in bacon fat and feeding him into a wood chipper, Homeland Security and TSA did their best to punish us all for 25 freaking years. FINALLY some common sense.
LOL.
Dont be so hard on Richard Reid.
Every single time I travel I thank him for not getting caught hiding explosives in his rectum….
You think you have been punished by removing just your shoes???
There could have been another inspection by a “man” while bending over to remove your shoes….:)
I just departed Dulles airport in Virginia and didn’t have to remove shoes or take out electronics or my medicines for my heart
But when I departed anchorage on June 19th I did have to do all those things.
This was a stupid measure in the first place. The guy was trying to light electric blasting caps with a lighter. DUH. In the meantime, we had years of foolish footwear inspection. When I turned 75 they told me I no longer posed a threat to national security and could go through an alternative line. Like being 75 made me magically not able to put explosives in my shoe. If you want a real view of TSA, google TSA saturday night live and watch the skit. You will never look at going through screening the same way again. When I was randomly selected for inspection I asked for a woman to do it, not feeling comfortable being felt up by a man. They said no. I asked him “how do I know you are not gay?” He said, “that is not in the book of instructions.” So go figure.
The last time I flew out of Anchorage and was “randomly” selected for further inspection for one of TSA’s DEI new hires was a very poorly transformed womanly man who spent way too much time getting his rocks off feeling his way through my pants after offering a private area to do it in.
My response was “Hell No”!
TSA hires sick puppies.
The shoes are by far the least intrusive part of that process. The TSA molestation agency needs to be scrapped in its entirety. Absolute waste of tax money. They told us that the molestation would end if we let them put the naked scanners in place, since they could see everything. They lied. Now we see how reasonable they are because shoes…. Send these useless clowns home already. Shut them down.
I have no use for the Transportation Sturmabteilung.
Thousands Standing Around is finally getting reined in a little