TSA stops requiring passengers to remove shoes in some airports

Some US airports are changing the long-standing security rule of passengers having to remove their shoes when going through TSA. The policy has been in place for almost 20 years.

Two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News about the update, and the first airports that are reportedly dispensing with the policy include Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Portland International Airport, and Piedmont Triad International Airport located in North Carolina. 

The outlet also noted that CBS News reporters who went through TSA at Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport said that neither they nor other travelers were asked to take off their shoes during screening Monday night. ABC News reported that a memo that was sent out to TSA stated that the new policy will allow all passengers to keep their shoes on across many US airports.  

Passengers enrolled in TSA PreCheck have long been exempt from removing their shoes, but the latest development applies to travelers in regular TSA screening lines.

The move comes amid reports that the TSA has allowed the original no-shoes requirement to expire. In a statement, the agency said it is “always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture,” but did not directly confirm the rule change.

The rule was formally put in place in 2006, several years after British national Richard Reid, who is also known as the “shoe bomber,” tried to detonate explosives hidden in his footwear on a transatlantic flight in 2001. Reid’s attempt failed, and passengers helped subdue him before the plane landed safely in Boston.

After that incident, TSA began asking passengers to remove their shoes. Now, nearly two decades later, that rule may be ending.