Traveler wait in a long security line at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The Transportation Security Administration will let many travelers leave their shoes on at U.S. airport checkpoints, ending a roughly 20-year-old rule, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday.
The change will be immediate and nationwide, Noem said at a press conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“We want to improve this travel experience, while maintaining safety standards,” Noem said.
The TSA briefed industry members about the change earlier Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
The agency screened an average of nearly 2.5 million people a day last year.
Most passengers had been required to remove their shoes at U.S. airport security checkpoints since 2006. The TSA at the time said it required shoe removal because of “intelligence pointing to a continuing threat.”
That came after Richard Reid, who became known as the “shoe bomber,” tried and failed to ignite explosive material in his shoe on a Paris to Miami flight in December 2001.
Travelers enrolled in the TSA’s PreCheck program can already leave their shoes on and keep their laptops and similar electronics in their bags when going through airport checkpoints.
Noem said Tuesday that airport screening technology has improved in recent years.
“We took a hard look at how TSA does its business, how it does its screening processes, and what we do to make people safe, but also provide some hospitality as well,” she said.
An air traveler places his shoes in a bin before passing through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security check at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 20, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.
Robyn Beck | Afp | Getty Images
She also pointed to upcoming events like the World Cup next year, noting that the agency is expecting an influx of travelers.
Airlines for America, which represents the largest U.S. carriers, including American, Delta, United and others cheered the decision.
“This policy change will go a long way in facilitating smooth, seamless and secure travel for passengers and is welcome news to the millions of people who fly every day,” it said in a statement. “Making security decisions that are informed by risk assessments and based on leveraging advanced technologies is a commonsense approach to policy change.”