July 8, 2025 / 10:43 PM CDT / CBS Chicago
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made it official Tuesday — passengers at U.S. airports will no longer have to take off their shoes upon going through airport security checkpoints, even if they don’t have TSA PreCheck.
For the past 19 years, travelers have become conditioned to slipping off their shoes upon getting to Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at the airport. But Noem said security technology has changed since then.
At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, travelers are used to waiting in long TSA lines no matter the time of day. But on Tuesday after the announcement, as Ruzha Dimova watched her children head out for an international flight, she was pleased to hear the little ones would not have to remove their shoes.
“This is really good. Even if you’re traveling with kids, this is a really good idea, because it takes so long to take off and put them back on,” said Dimova.
“Sometimes it’s harder for older people or younger, like first-time travelers like my son,” another woman at O’Hare added.
While the Department of Homeland Security is saying goodbye to the security measure that so many had dreaded, some travelers were still seen putting their shoes in the bins at O’Hare on Tuesday — unaware of the updated policy.
The now-outdated TSA videos instructing travelers to take off their shoes might have left some in the line confused.
“I say it’s not problem for me before or now,” a man said. “Maybe it’s faster right now, you know?”
Noem hopes the removal of the shoe removal requirement will cut down on congestion. But she insists security will not be compromised.
“Since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It’s evolved. TSA has changed,” Noem said during a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. “We have a multilayered, whole-of-government approach now to security and to the environment that people anticipate and experience when they come into an airport that has been honed and it’s been hardened.”
The change has some questioning their previous traveling decisions — given that not having to remove shoes had been a benefit for those with TSA PreCheck.
“So I paid for TSA for nothing, TSA PreCheck?” a man said. “I need my money back.”
The DHS said there are times people who need additional screening will still be required to remove their shoes. But as of Tuesday, a nearly 20-year security measure is a thing of the past.
The no-shoes rule was implemented by TSA nationwide in 2006.
Meanwhile, while travelers no longer need to remove their shoes, they will still need to present a REAL ID or passport to get past TSA checkpoints now.
Jermont TerryJermont Terry joined the CBS 2 team in October 2019. He’s born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. He’s happy to return home to report on his community after 18 years of uncovering stories across the country.
