Jul 8, 2025 - News

Shoes can soon stay on at PDX security checkpoints

An older man in a green and gray sweater lifts his leg, placing a hand on his shoe at a security checkpoint with a conveyor belt holding a patterned suitcase and a bin of clothes. A security officer stands nearby. — Keep those dogs in their kennels, the TSA said. Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Travelers at Portland International Airport will soon be able to keep their shoes on while they pass through security — no PreCheck required.

Why it matters: Passengers stopping to remove their shoes at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints can slow down lines — and most people would rather skip walking through airports in socks or bare feet, even briefly.

What's happening: On Tuesday afternoon, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the shoes-on policy will take effect at airports nationwide.

Implementation of the new procedure has begun at PDX, a Port of Portland official told Axios.

The big picture: This is the first time in about 20 years that general passengers can keep their shoes on, Axios' Josephine Walker reports.

What they're saying: "We expect this change will drastically decrease passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints," Noem said in a news release Tuesday.

Flashback: The TSA started the shoes-off rule at airport security checkpoints in 2006, according to CBS News. This was five years after the 9/11 attacks and a 2001 incident when a man tried to set off explosives hidden in his shoes on a flight, but was stopped by passengers and crew.

Zoom out: Passengers willing to pay $78 every five years for TSA PreCheck have been able to keep their shoes on for years, and nearly always wait less than 10 minutes, per the TSA.

The bottom line: The next time you fly out of PDX, you likely won't have to worry about ease of shoe removal — or the state of your socks.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

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Shoes can soon stay on at PDX security checkpoints

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