TSA: No more taking shoes off

[kylenne]

The shoes had nothing really to do with 9/11. It was because of rhe guy in Europe who put explosives in his shoes for a translation flight.

I know but I lump it into post 9/11 security theater because the environment at the time was very much about looking like they were doing something to reassure people, whether or not it was actually effective or a deterrent.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Now if we can just get some common sense about sporting equipment. We have a tournament in CO this weekend and will have to dis-assemble DD's lacrosse stick and check that in the suitcase if we want to bring it - you cannot bring it on the plane. Have you ever seen a lacrosse stick? if you swung it as hard as you can it would only leave a bruise. You can bring your Star Wars light saber onto the plane any time you want though.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What?? No shoes…??

 

[AprilsZoo]

I haven’t had to remove my liquids bag in a long time

I haven’t even had to have a single liquids bag. Not that I carry many liquids. But my lotion, cream, and gel products are in various locations in carry-ons, and I haven’t had anyone from TSA say a word about it in the better part of a decade.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

It depends on the airport. Some have been doing this for a while. In early 2024 we went on a cruise. Flew Dallas to Ft Lauderdale. In Dallas they told us to leave everything in the bag and keep shoes on. On the way back in Ft Lauderdale they had us remove everything and put them in bins. (wallet, iPad, belt, jacket, shoes, liquids, watches).

 

[Lewisc]

I saw the blog before this thread. The ad shown was from the TSA. Sign up for pre and keep your shoes on

 

[disney-inspired]

My #1 main reason for getting TSA precheck was so I didnt have to remove my shoes. Not the time savings.. it was the shoes.

With my disability, this was my #1 reason for getting pre-check. I do enjoy the shorter line though.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

For me getting TSA-Precheck was the plus to getting Global Entry but the shoes off was actually the least of my concerns mostly because of what shoes I wore that were easy on/easy off. But not having to take my kindle out and for my husband his laptop, keep my jacket on and not have to take my liquids out was the reason.

I still keep my kindle in an easily accessible spot, I still pack my liquids in the correct sized bag and easily accessible but those things take annoying time when going through security when you're already worrying about your ID and boarding pass (which I have on my phone) in the normal line.

At my home airport before the new terminal (which is de facto a new airport) opened we only got to use the pre-check a few times but it was always super fast and normal line was normally quite quick too it was just even faster with pre-check. They didn't have a single security entry which is likely why it was faster with people spread out more. Now sadly with the new terminal (a single security one) it's not normally much difference and actually the line can be longer in the pre-check line than the normal line, they still have sometimes confusion that occurs where people enter the pre-check line but don't have pre-check sometime ago they tried to have an employee there checking your boarding pass more often to help with this.

But still the not having to fuss with my bags or worry about the jacket part has been my main part and in those respects that's a more consistent thing across the airports as opposed to having this or that airport do this or that. Eventually though if the newer machines get programmed to be faster than they were most of the benefits of pre-check in terms of not having to take xyz out will end up being moot.

 

[pooch]

I dunno. I have a huge list of things that stress me out (all pretty much family related!!) but going through TSA at an airport has never made the list. I know how it works & have my ID & boarding pass in hand. Give them to the TSA agent, drop my stuff in the bin and walk through the machine, grab my stuff & done. Had oversized bottle of hot sauce once by accident. They pointed it out, removed it and sent me on my way. Even that was no big deal.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I dunno. I have a huge list of things that stress me out (all pretty much family related!!) but going through TSA at an airport has never made the list. I know how it works & have my ID & boarding pass in hand. Give them to the TSA agent, drop my stuff in the bin and walk through the machine, grab my stuff & done. Had oversized bottle of hot sauce once by accident. They pointed it out, removed it and sent me on my way. Even that was no big deal.

TSA isn't known for being consistent (which has been intentional when comparing airport to airport but is not intentional when comparing tsa agent to tsa agent) nor the nicest people all the time though I've encountered more neutral than not so nice by far still they get that reputation. That for some people can make them become anxious. Add that other passengers in line behind you or you're staring down a long line with yelling TSA agents barking out orders and some people don't fly all that frequently. If not having to take your shoes off helps people in the non-pre-check line have just a wee bit of less whatever that's something. Most often the biggest thing that makes a passenger stressed is simply that they don't travel often in the ever changing airport process. In the earlier days it seemed like people were commenting that a perk with tsa pre-check was just that they would hopefully be around more experienced passengers more used to how the process goes.

My bra (specifically the back part mostly) used to set off the 360 machines a decent amount, not always, but enough until I started doing more tsa pre-check and now that's only a rare occurrence. For some individuals that could present a worry.

I had two different TSA agents have two different opinions on a jacket I wore through the pre-check line in Chicago back in March. First one called me out to say "I think you'll want to take that off" as he must have thought the jacket which was thin might still be an issue, second one overheard and said "nah that's not an issue, I don't care about that, let her go through it's fine". One time a small tums bottle set off for one tsa agent but I went through that same airport (back then not in the pre-check line) a week prior with no such issues. My home airport many years back stopped requiring a belt to be taken off but no matter what belt I had they always had a problem and wanted to pat down the area, I just took off the belt there after because it was just easier and these days I don't wear pants that require a belt when flying.

None of these stress me out personally but I can sympathize and understand how it can be for other people especially when things change on a dime.

 

[pooch]

Yes, you are absolutely correct. I fly out of a fairly small regional airport and have never had an issue. Once going through MCO with my grandson but other than that, have never encountered belligerent TSA agents. As you have pointed out before, I benefit from flying a few times a year.

When this process first started, they had TV monitors playing a video of all the new rules on a constant loop. This was before we were all buried in our phones and you could have memorized it by the time it was your turn. And yet TSA was tossing full sized shampoos and fancy water bottles left & right. I’m sorry did you not just hear 37 times that you can’t bring a full water bottle through??? Those agents took such abuse! Maybe the crabby ones are payback
Remember their job is to be sure you don’t have a bomb in your underwear not to stop you from getting to your gate. Are they always pleasant or consistent? No but you will get through, unless you do in fact have a bomb in your underwear!!

 

[kylenne]

I fly out of a fairly small regional airport and have never had an issue.

These things are related. Fly out of a bigger one regularly and things are a lot different. JFK is bonkers and pretty much demands things like Pre, Clear, digital ID, etc to maintain your sanity. At bigger airports the regular security lines are enormous 24/7 and filled with infrequent fliers who are not familiar with the rules, which definitely has a knock on effect with TSA agents being nastier. Pre is a godsend if only because those lines are filled with people who travel a lot, for work or leisure or both, and who don’t need basic instructions barked at them. People who have their IDs in hand instead of being surprised and digging them out of their bags. And so on.

I tend to believe most air travel related stress is self inflicted (people not giving themselves enough time, mainly), but sometimes it’s not. Even with Pre/GE I have gotten the dreaded ZZZZ and the secondary screening is always awful.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

JFK is bonkers and pretty much demands things like Pre, Clear, digital ID, etc to maintain your sanity.

Haha that is actually quite true. Flew out of JFK last May to Europe *sigh* even with pre-check an exercise in patience was needed

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Remember their job is to be sure you don’t have a bomb in your underwear not to stop you from getting to your gate. Are they always pleasant or consistent? No but you will get through,

I've always been polite to tsa agents, customs agents, etc because hello no one needs to get into a battle with them but my comments were to explain why it can be stressful for some people and there are a good amount of reasons why. And sometimes the tsa agents are crabby with the passenger hasn't done anything wrong and that can also lead to passenger stress.

For my new airport it's only been operational for 2 1/2 years and security was extremely different than before at the old airport because it had multiple terminals and multiple security checkpoints so I give people at my home airport more of a pass for that reason not because the procedures have changed but the signage related to pre-check has (it was honestly much more obvious previously), the actual lines you encounter and that everyone now goes through at one single point instead of being so much more spread out. But the PP is correct that big airports often come with bigger issues if not for any other reason than more people flying through them.

FWIW the tsa do make headlines for failing to catch things from guns to how people have managed to get in without the proper boarding pass as well as water bottles and other such liquids beyond what should be allowed (which leads to inconsistency which gives passengers incorrect feedback on the process) but that's not unexpected they are human just making a side point to the comment of yours I quoted.

 

[greeneyedchick]

That's good to know that they don't enforce the clear quart bag thing anymore. I have still been doing that (and buying quart-sized ziploc bags for the sole reason of travelling) for years. I have TSA precheck and was wondering why I haven't been asked to take them out on the last few trips. I was also putting my eyes drops, hand sanitizer and aquaphor from my purse in a ziploc. Good to know that I don't have to bother. I did take my ziploc bag of liquids out a few trips ago and put it in the bin. Sadly, I forgot to pick it up afterwards. Such a pain!

I will say that I'm still stressed about going through TSA and sympathize with others who experience the same anxiety. The first time after my 16 year old daughter got TSA pre-check, she went through the TSA line and after checking her ID, they handed her some kind of TSA card. They then told her to put all of her stuff in the bins and empty her pockets.. She followed the directions and put the TSA pass in the bin, too. As she was about to walk through the scanner, the TSA agent asked for her pass. She said she put it in the bin (which is what she thought she was supposed to do). They yelled at her and said that she couldn't go through pre-check. She showed them her boarding pass that said pre-check and asked if she could grab the pass out of the bin. They said "no" and treated her like she was trying to do something criminal. They made her get out of the line and go to the regular check out. They should make it clear that you put everything in the bin (except your TSA card). People don't know if they don't travel a lot. Now we know.

 

[EACarlson]

I've always been polite to tsa agents, customs agents, etc because hello no one needs to get into a battle with them but my comments were to explain why it can be stressful for some people and there are a good amount of reasons why. And sometimes the tsa agents are crabby with the passenger hasn't done anything wrong and that can also lead to passenger stress.

For my new airport it's only been operational for 2 1/2 years and security was extremely different than before at the old airport because it had multiple terminals and multiple security checkpoints so I give people at my home airport more of a pass for that reason not because the procedures have changed but the signage related to pre-check has (it was honestly much more obvious previously), the actual lines you encounter and that everyone now goes through at one single point instead of being so much more spread out. But the PP is correct that big airports often come with bigger issues if not for any other reason than more people flying through them.

FWIW the tsa do make headlines for failing to catch things from guns to how people have managed to get in without the proper boarding pass as well as water bottles and other such liquids beyond what should be allowed (which leads to inconsistency which gives passengers incorrect feedback on the process) but that's not unexpected they are human just making a side point to the comment of yours I quoted.

IIRC, you're based out of MCI. I only flew in once in the old config. Was it private security then too? Or was it TSA? I know since the new airport opened it's only been private, and they've done a fantastic job each time I've had to deal with them.

 

[elvispursley]

Even having had recheck for years, I still get extremely anxious going through TSA. I have been screamed at multiple times for removing my insulin pump and putting it in a ziploc so it can be hand screened, yelling that I need to either leave it in place or put it in my luggage. It was even worse when I opted for the pat down. I threatened to be taken to a “private” room when I interrupted an agent to tell them I had an implanted device and to be gentle. The demeaning attitude of some of these agents has left me standing there in tears more times than I can count. Hoping one less thing do screen will make for better attitudes all around.

 

[pooch]

That’s just awful. No one should have to go through that.

 

[mikehn]

I snapped this photo back in December and you can see that not having to take your shoes off was a huge deal back then, so much so people were willing to stand in line. We'll see how these lines change now.

 

[Lewisc]

I snapped this photo back in December and you can see that not having to take your shoes off was a huge deal back then, so much so people were willing to stand in line. We'll see how these lines change now.

Liquid bag stays in the bag, tablet stays in the bag, light jacket stays on and generally metal detector instead of body scanners
It's not just shoes.

Also people are sheep and follow directions. Sign says pre, get on that line.