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TSA allowing passengers to keep shoes on (www.npr.org)

submitted 2 days ago by jay@beehaw.org to c/usnews@beehaw.org

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/20996269

I flew out of Denver on Monday and was told I didn’t have to take off my shoes.

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[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The TSA in and of itself has always been a make-work security-theatre project. Just as we did just fine without creating the Department of ~~Father~~Homeland Security, it's not like there'd been a whole bunch of hijackings under the previous airport-screening scheme.

Sure, you've got 9/11, but that was far more of a failure on the part of the national-security apparatus writ large than the folks at security at any given airport.

At this point, the biggest danger in air travel is boarding a Boeing. It's a shame Airbus hasn't hired Tom Bodett for a "we'll keep the doors on for you" ad campaign.

But back to the shoes. I have lived exclusively in Birkenstocks -- the generic two-strap Arizonas at that -- since 1993, with a minor excursion for my first job ("Men at the DN-R wear ties"). I have no idea what I could hide in those, especially in sufficient quantity to blow up a plane, without ripping the soles off, carving out some space in the cork and then attempting to reaffix the sole in a stable enough manner that I could even get to the airport, let alone to security.

This was a stupid rule from the get-go. That it took nearly 20 years to admit that tells you pretty much all you need to know about airport security.

[–] JillyB@beehaw.org 1 points 1 day ago

I suspect this is actually because of those full body scanners. They're probably better at detecting explosives.