Flight Attendants Aren’t Happy The Feds Didn’t Consult Them Over End Of ‘Shoes Off’ Policy At TSA Checkpoints

Flight attendants have expressed frustration that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not first consult them over its recent and unexpected decision to end the ‘shoes off’ policy at TSA security checkpoints at airports across the United States.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem officially announced the new policy on July 8, although it had already been leaked and widely shared before federal officials confirmed the decision to “increase hospitality” for travelers.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), the largest crew member union in the US, representing tens of thousands of flight attendants, was, however, caught off-guard by the updated security guidance and has made it known that it wanted to be involved in the decision-making process.

In an internal memo, the union, which counts crew members at Alaska, Spirit, and United Airlines amongst their members, said it was “deeply concerned” that the policy update “was made without consulting our union or any other frontline labor organizations.”

“We are actively addressing this oversight with the TSA and DHS and coordinating with our union partners to ensure we are included in future policy changes that impact safety, operations, and our fellow flight attendants,” the memo continued.

Publicly, the union hasn’t gone so far as to criticize the DHS, but in a statement, AFA said that Noem’s statement that “every [security] rule is being evaluated” but put it on a heightened state of vigilance.

Referring to the terrible events of 9/11, an event that was the catalyst for the creation of the TSA, the union said: “Our union made a promise 24 years ago to Never Forget and we carry that promise in the work we do every day as aviation’s first responders and last line of defense.”

Noem made the decision to end the ‘shoes off’ policy, “drastically decrease passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints,” which, in turn, she hopes will lead to a more pleasant and efficient passenger experience.”

It was, however, only in April that a TSA spokesperson shared a photo of a utility blade that had been found concealed in a pair of flip flops that a traveler tried to smuggle through a security checkpoint at Washington Dulles Airport.

In a post on X from an official TSA account, the agency said: “This is a good example of why TSA requires travelers to remove their footwear to be screened via X-ray.”

The latest thinking from the DHS, however, is that new full-body scanners using Advanced Imaging Technology, which are deployed at most airports, are capable of detecting potential threats in footwear that would lead to additional screening.

What Is The New Policy?

Officially announced on July 8 and now rolled out at domestic airports across the United States, all travelers (regardless of TSA PreCheck status) are no longer required to remove their footwear at TSA checkpoints so that they can be scanned in an X-ray machine.

Full body scanners should detect anything suspicious in a passenger’s footwear, and TSA agents will then conduct additional screening on any shoes that trigger an alert.

In addition, the TSA still has the power to conduct random shoe screenings, and the DHS says airports will have the power to resume the shoes-off policy based on specific intelligence or simply at the direction of the on-duty security director.

Why Did Kristi Noem Make This Decision Now?

In the official statement announcing the change, DHS Secretary Noem explained: “Ending the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy is the latest effort DHS is implementing to modernize and enhance traveler experience across our nation’s airports.”

“We expect this change will drastically decrease passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints, leading to a more pleasant and efficient passenger experience.”

Noem continued: “This initiative is just one of many the Trump administration is pursuing to usher in the President’s vision for a new Golden Age of American travel.”

When Was The Shoes Off Policy Introduced?

Many people believe that the requirement to remove footwear at the screening checkpoint was introduced in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in 2001, when a group of terrorists used box cutters and small knives to overpower and kill crew and passengers on four commercial aircraft.

The truth, however, is that while bladed articles were immediately banned from inside airplane cabins, it wasn’t until several years later that the newly created TSA started ordering passengers to remove their shoes and place them in the bin to be screened.

The incident that prompted the additional screening of footwear came about after the attempted bombing of an American Airlines plane on December 22, 2001, by the ‘Shoe Bomber’ Richard Reid, who tried to detonate explosives that he had hidden in his boots.

Thankfully, Reid’s attempted terrorist atrocity failed, and he was quickly restrained by a group of passengers and crew.

Initially, the TSA and airlines asked passengers to voluntarily remove their footwear because they were going through the metal detector arch, but it wasn’t until August 2006 that passengers were mandated to remove their shoes.

That decision followed another terror plot originating in the United Kingdom, where an extremist group devised an ingenious method to smuggle liquid explosives on US-bound flights concealed in drink bottles.

Will Other Countries Follow Suit Now That The DHS Has Ended The ‘Shoes Off’ Policy?

Other countries don’t need to follow suit because the United States had become an outlier in still mandating passengers who had not gone through some sort of vetting process to remove their footwear at the airport security checkpoint.

For example, the United Kingdom relaxed its ‘Shoes Off’ policy around 2010, while the European Union never had a blanket ‘Shoes Off’ policy at all.