Are you afraid to take your shoes off when you pass airport security?
This requirement will no longer be available for US airports. This means that agents at the Transportation Security Bureau can maintain their footwear when they receive a security screening.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem announced the changes Tuesday afternoon.
“When President Trump is elected, he is committed to improving the lives of all Americans, and I know that this includes people traveling through our busy airports,” Noem said.
Noem said it is important to streamline the process as the US looks forward to big events like the Olympics and big events like the World Cup, which brings “record travelers.”
“It’s important that a lot of people come and go to the airlines that go in and out of the airport, and finding ways to keep people safe, but it also makes the process more enjoyable for everyone,” she said.
The U.S. Government Employee Federation also adopted new policies on Friday before some airports were implemented more widely, confirming that agency trainers were working on updating TSA executives, The Washington Post reported.
How will security screenings change?
Aircraft travelers pass multiple layers of screening without the need to unstoppable shoes, including identity checks, carry-on baggage screenings, and individual screenings.
If the TSA agent determines that additional screening is required and travelers are asked to remove their shoes, there may be instances, Noem said.
Which airports already have a shoe-on-wear policy?
As of Tuesday, the policy had already been rolling out quietly at airports including Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Portland International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad International Airport, according to CBS News.
Noem said the new policies will be implemented quickly at airports across the country.
Although every airport has different screening equipment with different abilities, Noem said her federal agency “assessed the equipment that all airports have,” and by removing the no-show policy, the airport “have security needs at every checkpoint.”
How about LAX?
It is unclear when Los Angeles International Airport will roll out new policies. LAX officials introduced Times’ questions about the changes to the TSA.
Incidentally, TSA’s new shoe screening policy benefits only for travelers passing through regular security checkpoints. Travelers who apply, register and pay for a prompt screening via TSA Precheck or Clear are already exempt from undressing their shoes during the screening.
The practice of throwing the shoes into shoes to screen travelers was established in 2006 after the incident in which a British man boarded a flight in which a homemade bomb hidden in his shoes, months after the terrorist attack on September 11th.
During an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, Richard Colvin Reid tried to explode his shoes, but according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he struggled to light up the Hughes.
The crew and passengers restrained the lead. The flight detoured to Boston’s Logan International Airport, where officers took Reid into custody.
Reid confessed to FBI agents that he made a shoe bomb holding 10 ounces of explosives, according to federal officials.
It’s not surprising to remove the shoe removal policy
In April, the TSA announced it was working with the Department of Homeland Security to develop “next-generation passenger screening technology” with the aim of making security guards more efficient.
John Fortune, director of Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security, is leading the department’s airport passenger screening research.
His team has developed a way to enhance current technology used in screening machines with hands on top of their heads, according to federal agencies.
The TSA reported that Fortune and his team are currently studying alternatives or modifications to existing passenger screening systems.
“How do you implement shoe scanning, or do you put it in an existing portal system where the person is already standing while screening the shoes at the same time?” he said. “Can I place it somewhere within a checkpoint where there is potential for efficiency? Real-time screening involves rethinking the checkpoint.”
Homeland Security did not respond to Times’ questions about Fortune’s work and announcements of new policies regarding shoe removal.
During the announcement Tuesday, NOEM said federal agencies have the ability to implement other security screening technologies and to pilot several different security checkpoints across the country. This allows individuals to enter through security checkpoints.
She estimated that the pilot program could be investigated over the next six to nine months.
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