At Long Last, TSA Ditches the Shoe Rule
July 9, 2025
THAT SOUND you heard was the sudden rejoicing of tens of millions of U.S. air travelers. They’re whooping it up because TSA just rescinded its longstanding requirement for passengers to remove their shoes prior to screening. The change was announced on July 7th. It came without warning and went into effect immediately.
The shoe rule was put in place in 2006, five years after British terrorist Richard Reid attempted to blow up an American Airlines flight with explosives hidden in his sneakers.
“Thanks to our cutting-edge technological advancements and multi-layered security approach,” said the agency in a press release, “We are confident we can implement this change while maintaining the highest security standards.”
Whatever that means, exactly, is unclear. The important part is, lines will move more quickly.
One of my biggest gripes with airport security has been how entrenched the rules and protocols have become. Aside from the PreCheck program, not much has changed since the early 2000s — other than the fact we’ve gotten used to it all. There’s been little outside pressure to overhaul or re-think our berserk approach to keeping the skies safe, and travelers have merely grown accustomed to the tedium. The time and resources we’ve wasted over the last two decades is staggering.
So consider me surprised. And encouraged.
Hopefully the rest of the world will follow suit. Most of Europe and Asia came to their senses a while back, but a number of countries still make flyers doff their Birckenstocks.
We hope, too, that the liquids and gels policy is next.
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Photos courtesy of Getty Images and Unsplash.
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12 Responses to “At Long Last, TSA Ditches the Shoe Rule”
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The only thing uniform about the TSA is the uniform.
Just think how much better the airport will smell without all those exposed, smelly socks! 🙂
Now we need to ditch the TSA and just let everyone go to their gate after a quick pass through metal detectors.
The really annoying thing about removing one’s shoes is that most airports did not provide benches or chairs where one could sit down and put one’s shoes back on again.
One incident that stands out with TSA was when they made a mother drink some of her own breast milk to prove to them it was safe. This is beyond pathetic.
Few things show off just how ridiculous TSA is than the silly rule about drinks. Let’s assume my bottle of water/Coke/tea could be a bomb. TSA Agents take it from me. Do they put it in a bomb proof trash can?
They do not. They simply throw it in a big trash open barrel and you move on. It’s not about safety it’s about the ILLUSION of safety and really not even that. It’s just rules for the sake of rules. The entire thing is idiotic.
I have never had to take off my shoes at airport security on flights around Europe. Was that ever a thing in Europe?
Maybe in the UK? I don’t know. Never been to the UK by plane.
Or if you are flying to the U.S.
Before 9/11 airport security in the U.S. was ridiculous. Ridiculously lax – compared to Europe. Since 9/11 it’s been a ridiculous dog and pony show.
Now knock off the 3 oz / 100 ml liquids baloney.
Modern scanners can detect what they’re interested in. No need to make me throw out my water bottle (to then promptly buy a $7 bottle of the same behind security).
If they were truly concerned about said liquids, they wouldn’t casually chuck them into a huge bin in the middle of hundreds of people trapped in a tight enclosed space. Security kabuki.
The policy was never applied uniformly or consistently. It was a VAPO. The real problem has always been pilot bloggers working it for material.
Our local airport YHZ Halifax has recently announced that with the installation of new technology scanners passengers don’t have to take liquids & gels or computers out of their bags anymore during screening. That will save a lot of time too.
I sense what slows down the security process the most compared to before 9-11 is identification. Before 9-11, one just plopped your stuff on the belt and walked through the detector. You didn’t stop. One could check-in at the gate and get your boarding pass there. Anyone could go into the airport. Google ‘mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible’. This article will show the liquid restrictions are useless as the liquid bomb plot was impossible to carry out.
When flying from europe to the US, you can tell the american tourists in the security lines by the ones removing their shoes. This security theatre rule change is better late than never, I guess. Now could TSA do something about the no carryon liquids rule? So sick of having my forgotten half-empty bottle confiscated (no option to pour it out on the spot, like you can in LHR), and having to spend $5 on a 30 cent plastic bottle of water terminal-side.