TSA Will Allow Elderly Passengers To Keep Their Shoes On

Stringent TSA rules require all passengers to remove their shoes as they pass through airport security. That rule currently includes senior citizens who often have a hard time taking off and putting their shoes back on. Now the TSA has announced plans to allow those elderly passengers to keep their shoes and light jackets on at security checkouts.

Under the new rule passengers 75 years old and above will be able to keep their shoes and light jackets on.

The announcement comes just seven months after the TSA decided to relax its pat-down procedures against children 12-years-old and younger.

For the new program field tests will begin at Chicago’s O’Hare, Denver, Orlando and Portland, Ore., airports.

Only when an alarm sounds will an elderly traveler be able to remove their shoes. For passengers who can stand for at least five seconds a full-body scan option will still be offered.

Travel rules are now eased for children 12 and under, elderly passengers and frequent fliers at specific airports when they provide their background information under a Pre-check program.

According to Orlando’s TSA security director Joseph Terrell:

“These changes will allow officers to better focus their efforts on passengers who may be more likely to pose a risk to transportation, while expediting the screening process.”

The new rules come after two elderly women filed complaints in November in which they said they were essentially strip-searched at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. One passenger was wearing a back brace and the other was forced to show her colostomy bag.

While TSA officials denied claims of having passengers remove their clothes for closer inspection the agency sent out an apology letter in January which stated that officers would receive refresher training to avoid further embarrassment.

Do you think the TSA is doing a better job lately when responding to flier complaints regarding ridiculous practices?