Travelers at some U.S. airports may not have to remove their shoes during routine Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checks anymore, according to a CBS News report.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also appeared to confirm the policy shift, calling it "big news" from the Department of Homeland Security in a post on X on Tuesday.
According to sources in the report, the no-shoes-off change at airport checkpoints will be a phased approach at certain locations. They include Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Portland International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina.
The report also indicated the policy change occurring at Los Angeles International Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport, two of America's more prominent air hubs.
TSA adopted the no-shoes policy for most passengers in 2006.
The move came after Richard Reid, known as the "shoe bomber," tried to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives packed in his shoes in 2001. Passengers subdued Reid, and the plane landed in Boston after the attempt failed.
Before the incident, airlines and TSA officials had only asked airport travelers to remove their shoes. The nearly 20-year policy also followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, which drastically changed American travel amid fears of other attacks.
Notably, travelers with TSA Precheck currently don't have to remove their shoes. To have Precheck, passengers can apply for it to be granted under agency policy.
Popular Conservative advocate and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk celebrated the news on Monday.
"No more taking off shoes at the airport. Now let’s privatize/ abolish the TSA. Well done @Sec_Noem and President Trump! Kirk said.
U.S. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) also echoed Kirk's opinion to abolish the TSA on social media.
"We didn’t need TSA telling us to take off our shoes," Lee said. "We don’t need TSA. Share if you’d like Congress to abolish it altogether."
