TSA no longer requiring travellers to remove shoes for U.S. airport security checks

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 4:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Air travellers racing to drawback a formation astatine U.S. airports nary longer are required to region their shoes during information screenings, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday.

Noem said the extremity of the ritual enactment successful spot astir 20 years agone was effectual nationwide immediately. She said a aviator programme showed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had the instrumentality needed to support airports and craft harmless portion allowing radical to support their shoes on.

"TSA volition nary longer necessitate travellers to region their shoes erstwhile they spell done information checkpoints," Noem said.

While footwear removal nary longer is modular procedure, immoderate travellers inactive whitethorn beryllium asked to instrumentality disconnected their footwear "if we deliberation further layers of screening are necessary," she added.

Security screening sans shoes became a request successful 2006, respective years aft "shoe bomber" Richard Reid's failed effort to instrumentality down a formation from Paris to Miami successful precocious 2001.

All passengers betwixt the ages of 12 and 75 were required to region their shoes, which were scanned on with carry-on luggage.

The question newsletter Gate Access was archetypal to study that the information screening alteration was coming.

Travellers were previously capable to skirt the other information request if they participated successful the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 US for 5 years. The programme allows hose passengers to get done the screening process without removing shoes, belts oregon airy jackets, and without having to instrumentality their laptops and bagged toiletries out.

The TSA began successful 2001 erstwhile then-U.S. president George W. Bush signed authorities for its instauration 2 months aft the 9/11 attacks. The bureau included national airdrome screeners that replaced the backstage companies airlines had utilized to grip security.