US scraps shoe removal requirement at airport screenings, 20 years on

Passengers at US airports have been required to take off their shoes during security screenings since 2006.

A person in black pants and a white shirt holding a pair of black shoes.

A range of airport security measures have been introduced in recent decades in response to both successful and thwarted attacks. Source: AAP / AP / Erik S. Lesser

Passengers at United States airports will no longer have to remove their shoes to pass through security, 20 years after the requirement was introduced.

US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem announced the change to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules at a news conference at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Passengers at US airports have been required to take off shoes during screenings since 2006, five years after the arrest of "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid, who had explosives hidden in his footwear onboard.

Reid, a member of Al-Qaeda, was overpowered by other passengers as he tried to light a fuse on his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.

Reid pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges and is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.

'Security technology has changed dramatically'

"In those 20 years since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It's evolved. TSA has changed. We have a multi-layered, whole-of-government approach now to security," Noem said.

"We are very confident that we can continue to provide hospitality to folks and for American travellers and for those visiting our country, while maintaining the same standard of security for passengers and for our homeland," she added.
A woman speaking at a podium, surrounded by people in blue uniforms.
US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said security technology had "evolved" over the past two decades. Source: AAP / AP / Mark Schiefelbein
The TSA said in a statement on the shoe policy change that other security measures will remain in place.

"Other aspects of TSA's layered security approach will still apply during the TSA checkpoint process. For example, passengers subject must still clear identity verification, Secure Flight vetting, and other processes," it said.

Past attacks — both successful and thwarted — have led to a raft of new airport security measures in recent decades, especially following the September 11 attacks in 2001, in which hijackers flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers in New York as well as the Pentagon.

In 2006, UK authorities announced they had foiled a terror plot that aimed to blow up several planes in mid-air simultaneously with liquid explosives.

Since then, tough restrictions have applied to liquids and gels, such as toothpaste. And electronics have also come in for additional screening in a bid to head off attacks, with passengers required to remove laptops from bags, for instance.


For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.

Share
3 min read

Published

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world