Pittsburgh travelers react as TSA ditches shoe removal at security

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 Wednesday to tell them they no longer had to remove footwear. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday announced the policy, which allows passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening.

The policy is designed to streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to shorter 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 scene was the same at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.

“We are not making people take their shoes off as of Monday,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director for Westmoreland County Airport, which operates Palmer airport.

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 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 had some concerns.

“This raises some red flags,” Nicholas said. “Safety is important and you don’t want to be lackadaisical with safety.”

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 through security checkpoints.

One of the benefits of the TSA PreCheck program was not having to remove shoes. Noem addressed this during a livestream on YouTube, saying there is still value to PreCheck, such as not having to remove belts, coats or laptops.

The shoes change in policy came because of more advanced technology over the past two decades and layered security with Real ID, Noem said. She said passengers will be asked to remove their shoes if TSA has a reason to do so for additional screening purposes.

The change was made with an eye on anticipated hordes of travelers over the next year or so.

“We will have the Olympics and the World Cup here (next year),” Noem said. “And there will be many America 250 events that will bring record travelers.”