Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - For the first time in nearly two decades, passengers traveling through the air will no longer need to take off their shoes while going through security. The new policy will start at some airports and eventually move across the rest of the country.
Many travelers at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport feel that taking off their shoes takes too much time going through TSA.
"That's definitely one of my pet peeves, is always having to take off shoes and belts and stuff like that," said one traveler, Paul LeBlanc. "It just really slows up the process, in my opinion. So if they could come up with a, you know, better way to scanning us, without having to take that off, that'd be really big. Especially when in major airports, that's where I always hate having to do the security for the most part."
One traveler, Andrew from Australia told WBEN that they do not have to take off their shoes while traveling and thinks that this will help speed up the process of getting through TSA, and people will pack differently when traveling.
"I think there's a bit of an impact. It affects how we think and how we pack, especially if they put out some communications around what you can wear shoe wise then, it definitely makes it packing easier as well," Andrew said.
Travelers also think that the new policy will help out with parents who have younger children with them.
"It's always stressful for a parent when traveling with children, right?" Cheektowaga native Jay Abram tells WBEN. "So the less that they have to worry about, then the easier it is for the parent, less stressful also for the kids too. They don't really know what's going on. Sometimes when they take their shoes off, they think it's time to play and everything else. And so it's nice that they don't have to deal with that. And then, like I said, just make it easier to get on through and make everybody's life less stressful."