The internet erupted in cheers Monday over reporting that the Transportation Security Administration quietly reversed a decades-old security check long reviled by travelers.
The TSA began encouraging passengers to take off their shoes at airport security checkpoints beginning in February 2002, following an attempted shoe bombing by Richard Reid two months earlier. Shoe removal became mandatory for all passengers in August 2006 amid strict liquid restrictions following a thwarted liquid explosives plot in the United Kingdom.
But after nearly 20 years, that practice seemed to quietly end Monday, with passengers taking to social media to brag they didn't have to take off their shoes at airport security.
TSA is unveiling new procedures to allow passengers to keep their shoes on at standard airport screening checkpoints, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
The big change hasn’t been officially announced.
“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture. Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels,” the agency told the Journal in a statement.
Predictably, the internet cheered the change, with social media commentators praising the reversal.
"Yes, it's true. Today, July 7th, we were told to keep our shoes on at the TSA line at Boise airport. This should be a national celebration. It is a nationwide policy as of today," X user Mark Stokes wrote.
"About dang time! This is actually an accessiblity issue, too. TSA will now allow all travelers to keep shoes on during airport screening," cheered fellow user Josh Kaufman.
User Nurse Money Mone wrote on X, "TSA is removing all shoe removal requirements starting TODAY!" She attached a GIF of a woman dancing.
Aaron Day, however, took a bleaker perspective.
"This is why I hate politics. People are going to celebrate the TSA removal of the rule for taking shoes off as a win. Behind the scenes, they are ramping up surveillance through the BBB. People will do anything to root for their team - even if their team is committing atrocities. TSA drops shoe removal rule, but One Big Beautiful Bill’s $76B for AI surveillance could ramp up airport monitoring. Expect facial recognition and biometric scanners at checkpoints to offset relaxed screening. Border funds may shift to terminals," wrote Day.