For more than 20 years, Americans have been removing their shoes when going through airport security. But as of Tuesday, the Transportation Safety Administration is allowing passengers to keep their shoes on.
It was a rule implemented in August 2006 after Richard Reid tried to board an American Airlines flight with homemade bombs inside his shoes in 2001. Reid, unable to detonate shoes, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, according to the FBI.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that security technology has “changed dramatically.”
"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,” she said.
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KNX News’ Jon Baird went to LAX, where he spoke with travelers about the new rule.
“Oh, I'm so used to it that it's gonna feel weird,” one traveler said.
“I'm in my 70s, and it's been a hassle every time,” another said.
Baird reported that at Terminal 7, the majority of passengers kept their shoes on.
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