Shoe bombs are still a threat so for now US air travellers will have to continue to take off their footwear for security screenings, homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said. Napolitano said her department has been looking for a technological solution to the shoe problem, drawing applause at a conference of travel and tourism industry leaders. She further added: “We’re not there yet, so wear slip-ons.”
The shoe requirement is probably the most hated symbol of the raft of security measures imposed on air travellers after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Napolitano said that nearly 10 years after September 11, the US government was pursuing strategies to take some of the hassle out of air travel, where possible.
She said nearly a million people have now enrolled in “Global Entry,” a so-called “trusted traveller” programme that allows Prue-vetted passengers to clear customs more quickly. The administration’s goal is to double that number.