TSA, rolling out new policy, lets travelers keep shoes on at Sacramento airport
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- TSA ends shoe removal requirement at Sacramento airport for most passengers.
- New policy streamlines security screening, previously a perk for PreCheck users.
- Nationwide rollout expected after unannounced Sacramento pilot began Monday.
After almost two decades, the Transportation Security Administration lifted its requirement that most travelers remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints — and Sacramento was among the first cities in line to see it.
The new rules, first reported by the Gate Access newsletter, initially went into effect at certain airports. Passengers departing from Sacramento International Airport have not had to take their shoes off since Monday, airport spokesperson Lindsay Myers said.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Tuesday afternoon that the new policy was in place nationwide.
“We are very confident that we can continue to provide hospitality to folks — and for American travelers, and for those visiting our country — while maintaining the same standard of security,” Noem said at a news conference at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.
She said screening technology had improved since the shoe removal policy began in 2006, as part of a multilayered approach “that has been honed, and it’s been hardened.”
At Sacramento airport’s TSA checkpoint in Terminal B on Tuesday, agents told passengers to leave their shoes on as they approached the luggage scanners.
“Leave your shoes on for now,” one TSA agent told travelers. “But keep your pockets empty.”
According to a Homeland Security memo about the change obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, travelers may still be required to remove their shoes if their footwear triggers an alarm at a scanner or magnetometer.
Most people at SMF on Tuesday, however, moved through the security checkpoint without missing a step.
The federal policy began almost five years after Richard Reid attempted to detonate explosives in his shoe during a 2001 transatlantic flight. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three life sentences for the failed terrorist attack.
“It’s always seemed a bit funny,” Johanna Pitman, an Australian who was returning to Sydney after a Fourth of July visit with relatives in the Napa Valley, said while waiting in the security line Tuesday.
“Especially if you’re wearing something like this,” she said, lifting one of her sandal-clad feet. She expected the change would speed up security checks by eliminating the bottleneck of people stopping to redress.
Previously, keeping shoes on was a benefit reserved for TSA PreCheck members, who pay about $80 for five years of expedited screening.
“I’m sure some people will be upset, because there’s always people that are, but I think it’s better for everyone,” said Amy Smith, a Truckee resident who joined the PreCheck line for a business trip to Portland, Oregon. She pointed out that PreCheck members will still benefit from shorter lines.
Before enrolling in PreCheck, Smith said security screening with her two young children required careful planning — especially with footwear. She wore slip-ons to avoid delays while juggling her children and carry-ons.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 1:10 PM.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated what signs were shown Tuesday at the TSA checkpoint in Terminal B. There were no signs in the regular screening line indicating whether travelers had to remove their shoes, and a sign at the TSA PreCheck entrance said passengers who were part of the program could keep their shoes on, a benefit previously exclusive to PreCheck members.
