Traveler Katie Wethli knew before anyone at the airport had to tell her.
Word got out through social media that she no longer had to remove her footwear when going through Transportation Security Administration screening on Wednesday at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
“It was on social media,” the Cranberry resident said with a smile as she made her way through the maze of TSA lines on her way to visit her fiancé in Boston. “I saw something about this on Instagram in the last 24 hours. I am happy because my feet won’t get dirty.”
As passengers made their way, many of them started to remove their shoes out of habit.
The original shoe policy was put in place almost 20 years ago, a few years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.
Employees were stopping some travelers on Wednesday to tell them they no longer have to remove their footwear. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy Tuesday via a news release, which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening. The new policy is designed to streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times.
A TSA spokesperson confirmed via email that “the policy is in effect currently at airports nationwide, including at airports in Pennsylvania.”
In April, TribLive reported some changes that were coming to Pittsburgh International Airport’s security checkpoints. One of those was that travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck and ticketed to fly out of Pittsburgh could proceed directly to the main security checkpoint to receive expedited screening benefits as PreCheck members.
The airport also announced that passenger screening checkpoints will be closed from 10:30 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. daily — and passengers will not be able to access the concourse or gate area of the airport — to allow canine teams to do work in the checkpoint area to help speed up the screening process.
“We are not making people take their shoes off as of Monday,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director for Westmoreland County Airport, which operates Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
Lora Banks of Alabama was in Pittsburgh on a business trip. She was pleasantly surprised not to have to take her shoes off as she entered the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International.
“I flew through Atlanta and that was nice there as well to not have to remove my shoes,” Banks said.
The security lines were pretty light on early Wednesday afternoon as Juan Nicholas of Bellevue was about to take a flight to Las Vegas. He said it’s a convenience as a traveler to not have to remove his shoes, but he has some concerns.
“This raises some red flags,” said Nicholas. “Safety is important and you don’t want to be lackadaisical with safety.”
Noem said in a statement that with the technological advancements and multi-layered security approach, the Department of Homeland Security is confident it can implement this change while maintaining the highest security standards. She said the “this initiative is just one of many the Trump administration is pursuing to usher in the President’s vision for a new Golden Age of American travel” and added “Ending the “Shoes-Off” policy is the latest effort DHS is implementing to modernize and enhance traveler experience across our nation’s airports.”
“We expect this change will drastically decrease passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints, leading to a more pleasant and efficient passenger experience,” Noem said. “As always, security remains our top priority.”
Other aspects of TSA’s security will still apply. Passengers must still clear identity verification, secure flight vetting and other processes. They will still be prohibited from bringing liquids over 3.4 ounces, firearms, knives and tools or anything flammable through security checkpoints.
One of the benefits of the TSA PreCheck program was not having to remove shoes. Noem addressed this issue in a livestream event on YouTube and said there is still value to PreCheck, such as not having to remove belts and coats, compliant liquids or laptops.
Noem said the change in policy came because of more advanced technology over the past two decades and layered security with Real ID. She said passengers will be asked to remove their shoes if TSA has a reason to do so for additional screening purposes.
Noem said the latest technologies will continue to be implemented in airports across the U.S., which will be seeing a lot of passengers as the country builds up to host big events.
“We will have the Olympics and the World Cup here (next year),” she said. “And there will be many America 250 events that will bring record travelers.”