DHS Confirms New Airport Screening Policy — Shoes Stay On

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Tuesday that the Transportation Security Administration will no longer require passengers to take off their shoes during security screenings. 

“TSA will no longer require travelers to remove their shoes when they go through security checkpoints,” Noem said during a press conference at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday. 

Noem said that the agency was looking to streamline its processes ahead of major events like the World Cup and the Olympics. 

“This is especially important to streamline the process and look at efficiencies that we can build in as we build up for some big events that are going to be coming here in the next 12 months here in the United States of America,” Noem said. 

The TSA decided to make the change partly because of technology improvements to the screening process, Noem said. 

She added that there may still be some cases where passengers may have to take off their shoes. 

“The one thing that I will say is that doesn’t mean that there won’t be times once in a while where someone will have to remove their shoes,” Noem said. “If they get put into a different situation or need additional layers of screening where that may be asked of them.”

The news that the TSA would drop its shoes off policy was first reported by Gate Access, a travel newsletter by Caleb Harmon-Marshall, who says he is a former TSA security officer. 

The TSA has implemented a shoes off policy since August 2006, nearly five years after a terrorist tried to detonate an explosive inside his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami. 

Travelers with TSA PreCheck were already not required to take off their shoes during security. Noem said that PreCheck still had many advantages compared to traditional screening, since flyers with PreCheck don’t have to take off their belts and coats or have to remove their electronics from their luggage. 

“I believe pre-check will still be something that many travelers will want to utilize,” Noem said. 

Trade industry group Airlines for America president Nick Calio said in a statement on Tuesday that he endorsed the TSA’s decision.

“This policy change will go a long way in facilitating smooth, seamless and secure travel for passengers and is welcome news to the millions of people who fly every day,” he said.