TSA ends shoe-off policy at U.S. airports

Travelers now have one less step to worry about when walking through airport security at U.S. airports.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Tuesday that a pilot program showed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had the capabilities to keep airports and airlines safe while allowing travelers to keep their shoes on.

“We have a multilayered, whole-of-government approach now to security and to the environment that people anticipate and experience when they come into an airport that has been honed and it’s been hardened,” Noem said at a press conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.

TSA began implementing the “no shoes rule” in 2006, years after Richard Reid, known as the “shoe bomber,” attempted to light explosive devices hidden in his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001. The plane landed safely in Boston.

While shoe removal is no longer necessary at the airports, Noem said if “additional layers of screening” are necessary, TSA will ask some travelers to remove their footwear.

Noem also said that the rules for removing other accessories, such as belts, coats, and other items like electronics and liquids, are still in effect but are under review by Homeland Security.