TSA now lets most travelers keep shoes on during airport screening checks

The Transportation Safety Administration is making air travel easier by letting passengers keep their shoes on at some airport security checkpoints, according to NBC News reporting on this significant policy change. A senior government official confirmed this relaxation of rules that have been in place since 2006. The new policy is starting at selected airports but could expand across the country soon. The TSA has not made an official announcement yet, but they released a statement on Monday saying they are looking for new ways to make travel better for passengers while keeping security strong.

The shoe removal rule began in 2006 after intelligence showed there was still a threat from shoe bombs. This rule came after Richard Reid tried to blow up his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001. Reid had about 10 ounces of explosive material in his shoes and tried to light a fuse, but passengers and crew members stopped him. NBC News reported that his plan failed when he could not light the fuse properly, and the plane safely landed in Boston where Reid was arrested.

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The policy change is being rolled out step by step, starting with several major airports including Baltimore/Washington, Fort Lauderdale, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Portland, Philadelphia, and Piedmont Triad International airports, ABC News confirmed in their coverage today. The rule change is also happening at busy airports like New York's La Guardia and Los Angeles International Airport. The White House seemed to support this change when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media platform X about the big news from the Department of Homeland Security.

The TSA and Department of Homeland Security told news outlets that they are always looking for new and creative ways to make travel better for passengers while keeping security tight. ABC News noted that this change ends a rule that has been annoying travelers for almost twenty years. The TSA even made an advertisement in October for their paid PreCheck service, where four people said their favorite thing about the program was not having to take off their shoes at the airport. One person in the ad said it was their favorite thing about the service.

Forbes was among the outlets covering how this change affects millions of travelers who have had to remove their shoes for nearly two decades. The travel newsletter Gate Access first reported this internal TSA change over the weekend, noting that the White House would officially announce the new protocol. The TSA has updated its internal guidance and is telling TSA officers across the country about the change while updating their Standard Operating Procedures.

In 2011, the TSA made an exception for children 12 and younger, saying that letting young passengers keep their shoes on posed little risk based on intelligence and history. People who signed up for the TSA PreCheck program were also allowed to keep their shoes on during security checks. Forbes reported that this shoe policy change comes after another big change that now requires travelers to carry a REAL ID or other approved identification to go through security checkpoints at airports.