For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers will not be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports.
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.
It puts an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.
The change will go into effect immediately nationwide, Noem said.
The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy allows travelers to keep their shoes on during standard screenings at many U.S. airports, beginning Sunday. That would expand to all airports shortly.
New technology will also be tested at security checkpoints at airports across the country to allow travelers to go through security without interacting with TSA officers and keep their bags with them without removing laptops, Noem said during Tuesday’s press conference.
“Over the next six to nine months, you will see across the country pilot lanes and security checkpoints that will give us even more advancements and make this a security process much more streamlined for the traveler,” Noem said.
Travelers have previously been able to skirt the extra security requirement if they participate in the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.
All passengers between the ages of 12 and 75 are required to remove their shoes, which are scanned along with carry on luggage.
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. 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.”
Noem’s press conference Tuesday evening at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was billed as an announcement of a new TSA policy, her agency said, “that will make screening easier for passengers, improve traveler satisfaction, and reduce wait times.”
President Donald Trump fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske in January in the middle of a second five-year term, though he was appointed by Trump during his first term in the White House. Pekoske was reappointed by President Joe Biden.
No reason was given for Pekoske’s departure. The administrator position remains vacant, according to the TSA website.