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18h ago

TSA Ends 20-Year Shoes-Off Requirement at U.S. Airports

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says new imaging scanners will speed up security screening under a multi-layered threat detection system.

FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, file photo, a belt and shoes sit in a trays with advertising that is being used in the safety screening of travelers done by the Transportation Security Administration, at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ann Johansson, File)
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People put their shoes back on as they make their way through the TSA checkpoint at Midway International Airport in Chicago on June 25, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
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Overview

  • The TSA rescinded its 20-year-old shoe-removal rule at all U.S. airports on July 13, 2025.
  • Newly deployed CT and millimeter-wave scanners can now detect concealed threats in footwear without requiring passengers to remove shoes.
  • Randomized shoe inspections will continue under the agency’s multi-layered security framework.
  • The policy change follows a $1.3 billion CT scanner rollout and pilot tests at select airports earlier this month.
  • First introduced in 2006 after Richard Reid’s failed shoe bombing, the mandate had become one of the most common passenger grievances despite no repeat incidents.