The Transportation Security Administration will begin allowing travelers to keep their shoes on through airport security, according to multiple reports.

The policy of taking shoes off before security screenings has long maligned air travelers, often criticized for slowing the security process. However, after being instituted in 2006, it is now coming to an end.

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TSA introduced the policy several years after a shoe bomber, Richard Reid, unsuccessfully tried to blow up a flight in 2001.

The agency left the door open for a wide variety of security changes in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“TSA and [the Department of Homeland Security] are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a TSA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm the news in a post on X.

Big news from @DHSgov! ✈️???? https://t.co/GJjd2UQMki

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) July 8, 2025

The plan is to allow passengers to avoid taking their shoes off at major airports, with the eventual goal of rolling out the new policy to all U.S. airports, according to ABC News.

Passengers who trigger the alarm at the scanners or magnetometers, however, will be required to take their shoes off for additional screening, according to the memo reviewed by the outlet.

A former TSA officer, Caleb Harmon-Marshall, who first reported the news for the travel newsletter Gate Access, said the new policy will allow passengers to be screened faster.

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“They should feel relieved knowing that technology has advanced so significantly that T.S.A. officers can detect threats while wearing shoes,” he told the New York Times. “In the old days, this wasn’t the case.”

The new policy will likely be popular with air travelers, who previously needed TSA Pre-check to go through security without removing their shoes.