TSA Secretary Kristi Noem announced the change to a security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports.
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration has started allowing passengers to keep their shoes on during security screening at select U.S. airports, ending a requirement that has long frustrated travelers.
Transportation Security Administration Secretary Kristi Noem announced the change to a security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports.
“TSA will no longer require travelers to remove their shoes when they go through security checkpoints,” Noem said at a press conference Tuesday. She said a pilot program showed the Transportation Security Administration had the equipment needed to keep airports and aircraft safe while allowing people to keep their shoes on.
“I think most Americans will be very excited to see they will be able to keep their shoes on, and it will be a much more streamlined process,” Noem said.
Shoe removal at security checkpoints was implemented after a terrorist attempted to detonate an explosive device concealed in his shoe aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001, and was officially made mandatory in 2006.
The development could impact the TSA’s PreCheck program, which costs approximately $80 for five years of expedited screening that includes keeping shoes on. PreCheck will remain the easier option for the time being since people going through regular screening stations still will have to put items besides shoes on a conveyor belt for scanning, Noem said.
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 travelers is the TSA at screening checkpoints. 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, “It’s very clear that TSA is the #1 travel complaint. That falls under the Department of Homeland Security. I’ll discuss this with @Sec_Noem.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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