TSA Expected To End Shoe Removal At Security Checkpoints

Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Travelers are rejoicing after The Transportation Security Administration didn't require passengers to remove their shoes at security checkpoints at Logan Airport on Monday.

"I was watching others go through the screening and they didn't take their shoes off and I was like yes, finally," said one traveler.

After more than 20 years, TSA agents tell WBZ Newsradio that travelers no longer have to join the pre-check line to keep their footwear on. 

"I think in January I had to take my shoes off and this trip I did not," another traveler stated.

Guidelines requiring travelers to remove their footwear were introduced after Richard Reid attempted to detonate C-4 hidden in the heel of his shoe during a flight in 2001. American Airlines Flight 63 en route to Paris was diverted to Logan Airport after Reid lit six matches to ignite the homemade bomb. Shoe removal at security checkpoints became mandatory in 2006. Passengers with families think the adjustments will save time and reduce headaches at the airport.

"I guess it's a big time saver in the fact that I'm trying to take my shoes off, put them back on while also trying to wrangle my kids, get my bags, do all the things. It's just one more headache that you have to manage," one passenger commented.

"It's hard for families when you're juggling little ones or elderly or have lots of baggage. It's just one more step that maybe we don't need," said another.

The TSA was established after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. 

WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJreports.

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