The Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, announced on Tuesday that travelers must no longer remove their shoes when they pass through the security control points of the transport security administration in all airports in the United States, ending the mandate of almost two decades by the agency.
Noem said the new policy will enter into force in all airports throughout the country.
Although the equipment installed in each airport could differ, Noem said DHS evaluated the equipment at each airport and is “totally safe” that there is adequate security as people go through the detection process with the shoes on.
“Sometimes there will be people who will be asked to take off their shoes, if we believe there are additional projection layers that are necessary that can still happen to an individual,” Noem said at a press conference at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday afternoon. “But we are excited about the fact that we have the technology now that we have the multiple projection layers in which we have incorporated in recent years, they give us the ability to allow our travelers to maintain their shoes on.”
A traveler takes off his shoes before passing through a security control point at John F. Kennedy airport in New York, on February 29, 2012. Reuters/Andrew Burton/File photo
Andrew Burton/Reuters
Noem said the agency was able to terminate the policy due to “layer safety” by the TSA. These layers include additional officers at security control points, new scanners and technology and the recently applied real identification requirement.
“The passengers will still go through multiple layers of detection. They will also go through the identity verification. And, in fact, TSA has recently experienced a fantastic success with the implementation of real ID, since, you know, it was put in a statute more than 20 years ago and recently we placed it.”
Those who travel without real identification should not take off their shoes, but people could be marked for other reasons that may require that they go through additional security detection.
Despite the new policy, Noem said that TSA Precheck still has value for travelers, since it allows them to avoid additional security detection measures.
“I think that Precheck will continue to be something that many travelers will want to use, because when they have TSA Precheck, they will not have to take off their belt or coat or eliminate things from their bag that, such as laptops or compliance liquids.”
The Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, speaks during a press conference in which she announced that most of the airline passengers will no longer have to remove their shoes at the security control points, on July 8, 2025, at the Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Looking towards the future, Noem said that the agency is working to rationalize the process and during the next six to nine months, they hope to introduce a pilot program of security control point in several airports that will allow people to go through the detection process without interacting with an officer, walking through machines or eliminating any device such as laptop computers of their bags. He also added that certain airports currently have family lanes points that allow families to overcome detection together separately from others, which facilitates those who travel with babies and children.
After the announcement of Noem, Airlines For America, a commercial group of airlines that represents the main aerial carriers in the United States, issued a statement that supports the effort of the DHS.
“We applaud to the Secretary of National Security Kristi Noem for its leadership and vision to reexamine the 20 -year footwear projection requirement,” said Nicholas E. Calio, president and CEO of the group. “This policy change will contribute greatly to facilitate trips without problems, without problems and safe for passengers and it is good news for the millions of people flying every day.”
