Passengers Won’t Have To Remove Their Shoes At Michigan Airports

Traveling can be one of the most exciting parts of life, but the time spent in the airport can really change your opinion. There are always long lines everywhere, most of the seats are comfortable, there's a bunch of weird people around, everything is expensive, and the list goes on. If you can get past all of the annoyances the airport can be a fun place to people watch.

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Now, there is one thing that wasn't mentioned that can get under your skin more than anything else, it's the TSA airport security checkpoints. These lines can be over an hour long and is the main reason why they suggest you get to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight boards. As someone who has missed a flight for being in the TSA line too long, take heed to this warning.

The TSA security checkpoints became a thing in American airports shortly after the 9/11 tragedy in 2001, they began to verify everyone's identity and have security measures for persons and their luggage. This would lead to people having to remove or discard items, electronics, clothing, and their shoes.

Did You Know You Can Keep Your Shoes Through Airport Security In Michigan?

As you can imagine, this process can significantly slow down the lines and cause stoppages and backups due to people having to take all these things off or out of their bags. Now, there are some changes coming to airports in Michigan that could make this process much faster.

According to Mlive:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Tuesday that passengers traveling through domestic airports will be able to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. The new policy will increase hospitality for travelers and streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times. Ending the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy is the latest effort DHS is implementing to modernize and enhance traveler experience across our nation’s airports. We expect this change will drastically decrease passenger wait times at our TSA checkpoints, leading to a more pleasant and efficient passenger experience,” she said in a statement.

This change has been adopted by airports across the country including in Michigan. Both the Detroit Metro Airport and Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids have opted into the new program. Passengers will still have to go through other security and identity verification processes as normal.